Predator and Prey
by li3atinali3
Summary: Getting pushed out of fifth story window by a starved vampyric madman must be more then just a strange coincidence... Landing into a world of power prostitution and run-aways without a cause will do things to a girl.
1. Hospitals

**Predator and Prey.**

**Important!**

Ideally, I'd say read my other two stories so you'd understand the characters and their mutations…but, that probably won't happen, so I've done my best to write it so anyone can understand the characters and their developments.

However, be advised that some mutations are indeed, a little complex, and you'd be better off reading my previous stories to understand them, rather than guessing your way through this. I mean, I explain them in the first few chapters anyway, so you don't really need to get too far.

I'd say about 99.9% of this story is my own; I namedropped a few canons, and I'm sure that's all fairly obvious. It's an epic cast of new mutants!

**PART ONE.**

**1. Hospitals.**

She was standing by her opened window, the curtains flapping in the breeze, her long brown hair flicking lazily. She was looking outside, just looking. He wasn't sure what she was looking at with such intensity, and he wasn't sure why he cared. He was slumped against the cool wooden frame of the opened door, watching the girl with interest. Hospitals do indeed hold some of the most curious types.

Maybe she's dying and is saying her last goodbyes to the world. At least, that's what he hoped. She wasn't doing anything though, she wasn't hobbled over, she wasn't coughing sickly; she wasn't even quivering. This girl certainly didn't look close to death, he couldn't sense a fading life, and with a definite sigh, he heaved himself from the doorway and walked down the hall.

He was looking for something, someone. And he knew that if he didn't he'd have to leave and hide. A nurse appeared in front of him as she turned in from another hallway. She glanced up at him and asked him to stop. He bowed his head and kept walking.

'Excuse me, please stop!' she called out after him. She started raising her voice, he had to stop and talk to the nurse in order to avoid any issues. He halted and turned to face her. The woman let out a soft gasp – his skin was a pale ivory with deep purple shadows under his eyes, he sauntered closer to her.

'Who…who are you? Are you a patient here?' she stammered, she had only seen people that looked that sick when they were hours from facing their deaths, but there was something so beautiful in his drawn features.

He shrugged his shoulders. 'Needed to stretch my legs,' hoping that was ambiguous enough for the nurse to let him continue walking.

'I'm sorry; I think you should sit down for a while. You don't look well, I'll go get a doctor,' she tried to lead him down the hall, the opposite way he had been traveling, to a small, empty room.

'I'm fine, please let me go,' he sighed in a deep, raspy voice. The nurse jumped a little at his voice. He was obviously sicker than what she thought, but even hunched over he was taller than her, and his though his thick, dark, lank hair fell over his face, she caught a glimpse of something menacing in his pale eyes. She didn't know whether to melt or to run away.

He turned to leave, glaring at her, and she let her arms fall limp by her side as she watched him saunter out.

He was growing weaker and inside, he felt as if something was trying to thrash out, as if to throw him into a frenzy. He couldn't remember the number of the room with that terminal patient anymore, when all that ran through his mind was finding what he needed as fast as he could. He could have taken it from that young nurse.

She would've been enough.

He would have been safe for a while, and he wouldn't need to continue visiting this hospital.

Why is everyone so goddamn healthy? he thought, growing more and more frustrated as he scrambled room to room, looking at each person lying in bed, sleeping. It was growing dark outside and he longed to be back out there again, away from the harsh fluorescent lights above him.

He stopped suddenly and backed up against a wall. He felt something weighing down on him, but at the same time something was trying to prize itself out of him. He looked ahead into the room in front of him, the room looked familiar; the figure by the opened window looked familiar.

No.

It didn't.

Right?

Though his vision was being distorted by a sudden wave of hungry nausea, he knew that figure wasn't standing by the window, but rather leaning outside as if to jump or fall out.

'NO!' he yelled. Somewhere in his mind he knew that if someone was that sick to throw themselves out a window he could take the opportunity and save the family from having to look at their flattened and disfigured son or daughter – he was so frenzied he couldn't tell. He ran heavily towards the figure, yelling out to get them to stop, yelling out that he could help, that it isn't worth it – yelling out everything he'd heard a cop yell to a suicidal, ready to jump off a bridge in every movie and television show he'd seen.

The figure – a girl, he managed to recognize – turned around and stared wide-eyed in shock at the tall, pale person hurtling towards her. Before she had time to respond she felt his arms grasp tightly around her waist and she was thrown off balance.

He didn't know what was happening.

Everything was moving too fast.

One moment he was trying to tackle her away from the window, the next there was a stomach lurching sound of breaking glass and the ground was rushing towards him.

Instinctively he positioned himself so that the girl would land on him, rather than directly on the ground. He didn't know if he could survive an impact like that from such a height, and as weak as he felt – they must have been at least five floors up.

Though, that thought was fleeting, because soon enough he felt his back hit the hard cement, causing him to gasp from the sudden rush of pain that erupted through his entire body, but he was careful not to let go of the girl until he was sure they'd stop moving.

He let his arms fall from her waist and she rolled off him, unconscious.

'Hello?' called a voice from the darkness.

He twisted his head painfully to the side and watched as another figure, hobbled, ragged and old wandered up to his broken body.

'Oh man, you're still alive. I'll get the doctors, hold on man,' panicked the old man, pacing around, muttering to himself.

'No, come…here…' he whispered hoarsely, wincing as the pain flamed up again, and without question, the old derelict came up to the boy lying twisted on the ground and gasped as he looked into his piercing, ice-blue eyes.


	2. Drifting

**2. Drifting.**

She awoke to a cold morning, stiff from lying on the ground, totally unsure of where she was or why she had so many bruises and scratches on her bare limbs.

'Here,' said a male's voice from the shadows and some clothing was flung at her.

'Who's there?' she called, her voice shaking, slowly backing away on her arms and legs. 'Where am I?' she cried out again to the shadows, though it was hard to differentiate anything from the shadows, for though it was morning, the heavy clouds made it darker than usual.

'Get changed or you'll get sick. I'm not taking you back to the hospital,' he demanded. He didn't want to stay around long; he just… wanted to make sure she was alright.

Alice gasped as she recognized his voice; it was that guy from the hospital that pushed her out the window – the English accent wasn't hard to miss. But she had landed on him… she saw that before she hit her head on the ground, she raised her hand to her head and felt a sore bump. He should be dead.

'How did you…why did you? Please…' she stood, holding her clothing, pleading him to answer her. She heard a sigh from behind a large dumpster, and walked towards it, but before she could walk over he darted out in front of her, blocking her from walking any further – but he still concealed himself. She could only tell that he was a lot taller than her.

'Get changed, you'll get sick, and like I told you before I'm not going back,' he said in his deep voice, almost growling.

Alice went red, suddenly aware of the hospital gown she was wearing and hid behind a large pile of boxes to get changed. She pulled on an oversized sweater and some torn jeans, wondering where he found this stuff.

* * *

All he had to do was keep on walking and eventually he'd forget about her and he'd be able get on with the day. It didn't take him very long to reach his dingy, decrepit home – an old, run-down apartment complex that housed a few other strays; mutants who belonged to Saskia. Everyone kept out of each other's hair.

* * *

'But I was in here a couple of days ago!' she stammered, clutching her old hospital gown. It's not that the nurses didn't believe her story – she did wake from a two-week comatose state – it was the doctors who couldn't see any reason why she should have to take up any more room. Especially since they knew she had fallen from a fifth story window and survived. Having a mutant around made the staff edgy.

Especially a foreign one with no recollection of how she ended up in New York.

She was stuck in a foreign place with a big, blank spot in her memory. Everything from the moment that fence fell before her, was gone.  
Alice hadn't been trying to jump out the window in a fit of self despair; she was testing the powers she had copied from her friend, which evidently, were gone.

The situation hadn't really sunken in just yet, and so, with shaky nerves she left the nurse's station and sat in the foyer, waiting for something. Maybe Hannah had told her parents and they were coming to help her.

She glanced up at the clock, her eyes flicking past a calendar. They shot back. It was October. She had made her escape in June or July.

That couldn't be right… Alice walked up and assessed the calendar with the cute kitten pictures.

Apparently, not only was it three months fast, but also two years ahead.

'Um… if this the right date?' she asked one of the nurses who nodded, ignoring Alice's expression of distress.

Two whole years.

Alice ran into the bathroom and took a long look at herself. She wasn't looking at an eighteen year old anymore; her ash-brown hair was longer than what she remembered it to be; she could barely see through her bangs. She placed her hands on her face; it was thinner now; like the rest of her body…though, to her surprise, she looked toned. She sighed, knowing that she still wasn't any taller. Though, to her relief, none of these changes had made her look older. This was the first time she had actually studied herself properly in the mirror since she had woken up, rather than glancing absentmindedly.

She sauntered over to her seat, yelling obscenities in her mind, not feeling twenty years old at all.

A nurse's eyes flicked up to the girl. She was sitting with her legs and arms crossed, staring defiantly at the other nurse who had turned her down. She beckoned the girl over who approached the desk silently, cocking her eyebrow at the woman.

'If you have nowhere to go, here are the numbers of a few shelters, as well as a…cure facility close by and well, somewhere you'd stay…if you were…different,' the nurse mouthed the word 'mutant'. Alice snatched the list of numbers and addresses and stormed out.

_Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters._  
It was her best option.

It was heading towards late afternoon, so all she had to do was find the bus to take her there, seeing as though she was already in New York, and the school was too.

The idea of going back to a place similar to one she had tried to escape once before worried her immensely, but she was adamant on finding some place to stay, just to get her head around her situation.

Alice gave up searching for the appropriate bus ten minutes after she began. Back home in Sydney she barely understood, let alone used the bus system. What made her think she had the slightest hope now? She wasted more time wandering around, avoiding the eyes of everyone around her – still wary of the current state of her mutation.

She had been left without any money, shelter or food. Completely and utterly homeless. She didn't know what to do; she didn't know where to go. Alice couldn't even remember how she ended up in the hospital. Ever since she woke up three days ago in a different country she had been trying so hard to remember how she had gotten there.

It was now pitch black, but she still kept walking down the streets, looking for somewhere she could stay. She had never been without a roof over her head to know how to fend for herself. Why hadn't he helped her? That selfish bastard!

Her mindless walking led her to a small park where she sat on an icy swing, and waited for the morning to come.

* * *

**A/N: **Yay! Only one assessment left! Thanks for the reviews for my last chapter... hope you guys liked this one!


	3. Probation

**3. Probation.**

He reached the dilapidated building in about five minutes without breaking a sweat, and was pacing the short distance between his bed and the kitchen sink thirty seconds later.

'Damn it!' he swore loudly, suddenly remembering that he had an assignment that he had to finish.

His boss wouldn't be happy.  
No, she'd probably make him combust.

He fell down on his bed, trying to get his thoughts straight, his mind was clearer now that he had fed.

_Okay_, he thought, _I pushed some girl out of a window… it's not like it's the worst thing I've done_. He closed his eyes and rolled over, _I lost control again, weren't you meant to get more control as you got older?_ Zach stood up, knowing that he'll never sleep, and looked at his reflection.

He'd never get older.

It was his mutation and his pride that kept him living this way.  
He couldn't live for eternity without stealing the lives of others to keep himself looking the way he did. No, he had to take life forces… there was no two ways about it.

There was no use in hiding though… he'd have to face Saskia eventually.

Maybe if he went later, it would look like he failed whilst trying and he wouldn't have to explain knocking a girl from a five story building, or the corpses he left in the alley.

_Yes_, he thought, agreeing with his own proposition.

'I'll just sit tight for a few hours', he muttered to himself, repositioning his body on his lumpy mattress.

He closed his eyes, waiting for the moment where he'd slip away into his dreams; something he waited for every night, but all that would come to him would be memories and his own thoughts telling him to relax. But he never slept; he couldn't sleep. All he did was haunt this room.

There was someone at his door – he knew before they knocked. He got up and opened with a cheeky grin on his face.

If anyone could help him waste time it'd be her.

'Hey Zoey,' he greeted her, leaning on the door frame.

'Aren't you meant to be on an assignment?' she asked charging past him, her face low trying to hide her blushing cheeks. No matter how much time she'd spend with him, she hadn't gotten used to how damn attractive he was.

Zach shrugged and walked behind her. Zoey was older now, twenty-three, and though she was only a year older than Zach, he still only looked about nineteen. Living the way she did tired her and took away from her young beauty; she was maturing fast, but there was something still… sexy to that.

'You're surprisingly alert today,' she commented searching through his fridge. 'Still no food? I asked you to pick up a few things!'

'I don't eat. It'd go off before you'd get around to it.'

'Well, I can't possibly do anything remotely strenuous on an empty stomach,' she stood facing him, one hand on her hip, the other playfully fiddling with her jacket zipper.

**x**

They both arrived at Saskia's later that night; Zach hoped that she would be too tired to deal with him.

They walked in after hacking past the overgrown garden shrugging dead leaves off their clothes and out of their hair to the boastful chants of the younger boys claiming their latest female conquest.

'I saw this chick— ', one began, his orange-red hair almost glowing under the yellow lights – he was the only one they could see around the corner of the door to the living room.

'Here we go…' one of his friends interrupted. There was a brief silence followed by loud, boisterous laughter.

'Hey! I didn't do anything like that to her!' he yelled out over the laughter.

'Course he didn't do anything, look at the boy. Have you actually hit puberty yet?' Zoey smirked, leaning on the door.

'Ya know Zoey, as soon as you get sick of that pale pretty boy you've got there, call me,' a young man with platinum blonde hair approached her slowly. Zoey looked back to Zach, hoping he'd say something; but he had already walked off. She shrugged and returned to flirting with him; curious as to where it would lead.

'Saskia?' Zach walked in cautiously, not wanting to feel the wrath of her flames. It didn't look like she was in there yet – Zach sighed with relief. He sat down on the seat in front of her desk and swung his boot-clad feet onto the desk.

'Do you mind telling me what happened?' a voice asked from the door.

'I, uh, failed,' he replied, not turning around.

Saskia walked over to her desk and threw some papers down, before seating herself. She eyed his dirty boots with a glare; Zach quickly placed his feet back on the ground.

'Thank you.'

And that's all she said for a whole five minutes. Five minutes of excruciating silence as she stared at him.

'Now, see here Zacharias,' she had used his full name, that wasn't good, 'Not once in the two or so years you've been working here, have you ever failed.'

'Everyone has their off days,' he shrugged, throwing her a smile he knew made anyone melt.

'Don't bother with that. Do you want to know what I've been doing since the time you left until about twenty minutes ago?' she asked rhetorically, her voice rising.

'I've been trying to explain to my clients why the mutant they hired didn't bother to show up for the briefing. Then I had to explain why my mutant didn't bother arriving at the meeting point… and finally, I had to explain why _my mutant_ didn't bother showing up at all,' she hissed, rubbing her temples.

Zach opened his mouth to defend himself, but was stopped by Saskia's raised hand.

'No, don't explain. I don't have time to listen to you and your excuses. From now on, until I'm not so angry at you, no more assignments. You'll be on guard duty for all the newbies. I can make it a lot worse if you don't like it.'

Guard duty! He couldn't believe it. No self respecting person would ever agree to baby sit the young mutants while they ran around on basic theft missions – ego's and powers raging for the world to see. He sunk back into his seat, sulking.

Saskia rolled her eyes, and pointed to the door.

'Don't bother coming to the meeting after, either.'

* * *

The cold forced Alice to move from her spot in the park, and she continued to drift further and further into what seemed to be a more shady part of town. She had no idea where she was, but she knew enough to keep hidden; but not from the winter chill.

There were old buildings scattered around the place, but one caught her eye.

She watched as a few people slunk into the building, disappearing up the stairs. It was probably a long abandoned apartment complex – which would be a perfect place for her to sleep and figure out what to do next.

She wearily headed to the building, pushed the heavy door open, made her way up the stairs and collapsed on a mattress in a room void of any footprints on the dusty floors, and of any food in the cupboards and fridge.

* * *

Zach waited downstairs, flicking through the hundred or so television stations. Some kid managed to steal cable – among other things. The meeting was going on upstairs, and he knew that if he was bothered, he would be able to listen in.

But he was sulking.

If Saskia didn't want him there, then he didn't care what they were talking about. The sound of chairs scraping along the wooden floors groaned through the ceiling, and Zach shot up and ran silently up the stairs.

Everyone looked annoyed as they walked out, muttering under their breath – Zach didn't bother listening. He peeked into the room, and turned away immediately. If he thought everyone looked annoyed, Saskia looked as if she was going to tear the next person to talk to her apart.

Saskia walked out, holding a large, unruly file in her hand and glared menacingly at Zach, probably assuming that he was listening in anyway. He shrugged and walked into the room where Zoey was chatting to Jason and a red-haired boy.

'But… I really want to know,' Zoey whined, her back to Zach. Jason shook his head at her childish tone. He never really liked Zoey all that much; she was such the attention seeker. Jason nodded towards Zach, giving him a pained smile. Zoey turned and slipped off the desk she was sitting on.

'Hey Zach, I can't come over tonight… I'm busy,' Zoey kissed him on the cheek and left Zach and Jason alone. The red-head cast him a confused glance before turning pale and edging out of the room after her.

'I don't know how you do it,' Jason jerked his thumb towards the door, 'she's got the mind of a sixteen year old.' Zach didn't really know either. Their relationship was purely physical; absolutely nothing more.

'She's hot, don't get me wrong,' Jason added quickly, knowing that he wasn't the only one with super human strength and agility. He wasn't sure how Zach would react if someone said a word against his girlfriend.

''bout it,' Zach muttered.

'Pub?' Jason suggested, grinning as Zach agreed. He wanted to forget a little; and the strong alcoholic fumes never failed to help.

* * *

**A/N:** For all those who are a little lost about Zach's mutation, the next chapter should clear things up.


	4. Buried Alive

**4. Buried alive.**

He was given his first taste of guard duty when Saskia's recent recruits demanded an assignment from her. It was a theft job involving one young mutant that could, apparently, create small tremors and another young girl whose touch was quite literally acid – though, she was able to control it. Zach was confused at Saskia's choice for the mission, but decided against questioning it.

Whilst he drove them to the location, he listened as they discussed their plan of attack.

'Since you've got the acid thing going for you, you'll have to break into the vault,' the boy told the girl who nodded; she was looking a little pale. The boy continued, telling her that he'll clear the way so she can get in – if needed.

Seemed to Zach, like this boy was trying to avoid any work, but really, he didn't care. He just had to make sure they came back alive.

'Right, we're here. I'll be outside, waiting,' he slowed down the car and came to a stop. The girl giggled, and he managed to catch a quick glance at the boy who looked as if he were sulking.

They were gone for about twenty minutes when he felt a deep rumbling on the ground beneath him, followed by an alarm ringing loudly from within the building. Zach slid off the hood of his car and walked into the building, sighing loudly.

'Zach?' the girl had caught sight of him and came running over, she stopped in front of him, clutching herself. Zach had to stifle a laugh when he noticed that her clothing had begun to melt away.

'What happened?' he asked, looking around and then back at her, pulling his jacket off and passing it to her.

'Jordan, well, he accidentally collapsed the chamber… and then well, I tried to melt my way through it, but it didn't work. People came – mutants, I think – and Jordan's busy trying to bury them alive!' she panted.

'Why aren't you helping him?'

"I tried! But… making a person… melt,' she went green.

'Okay, alright. Show me the way there, and be quick about it. Did you at least get what you needed?' the girl nodded and ran off down a hall, clutching the jacket which was slowly disintegrating around the sleeves.

As they ran, Zach heard the police arriving, and realised straight away that he wasn't going to be able to get his car back. And, well, they were going to have to get out quietly.

The soft tremors he felt when he entered were building up, and by the time they had reached the stairs to go to the basement, it was hard for the girl to keep her balance. Rather than having to deal with a dead mutant, he told her to stay put while he ran downstairs on his own.

There were men already down there, clustered around what appeared to be a trembling boy crumpled on the ground. The girl was right – they were mutants; he could sense it from the energy they were all giving off. Probably one of Saskia's rival organisations.

Zach walked up to the men and stood next to them, crossing his arms.

'The female is dead. We should save this one for questioning,' he spoke, hoping the others would buy it.

'He's already taken Mason and Rick down, I don't think it matters if he's dead or alive anymore,' one of them replied, kicking Jordan, who let off another tremor. The guy standing opposite to Zach turned and looked at him questioningly and then looked closely at Jordan, whimpering on the floor. He whispered something to the guy next to him, and they slowly began to advance on Zach, ignoring Jordan altogether.

'Pete here tells me that you _drove_ these kids here,' a bald, beefy guy stopped a meter away from him.

'Uh…' was all Zach could manage before the bald man's arm that had transformed into a long, silver blade was thrust through his stomach.

'Ugh,' he gurgled. '_That was unexpected'_, he thought, tasting blood on his lips. The man had pushed Zach down to his knees, and was moving the blade in an upward direction. Blood flowed freely from his torso; but that was all. This wasn't pain that'd trigger his defensive mutation, that dark energy that would flow from his body that transferred his physically pain to those around him – it was pain he could deal with, now. With a quick glance to make sure Jordan wasn't watching, Zach stood up and to his attacker's amazement, slid himself off the blade and assessed the damage to his shirt. His clothing was bloodstained, and there was a large hole in his top – his stomach, and chest, completely healed.

'That was nothing,' Zach smirked, before the bald guy dropped to the ground, dead. Zach felt the life of the man flow into his own body; energizing each cell of his being.

'Jordan, get up!' he yelled out to the boy, as Pete dropped dead too. The others stopped beating Jordan and saw their two dead teammates lying on top of one another and ran towards Zach.

Before the group of them could reach Zach, a large chunk of the ceiling fell and landed on three of them, killing them instantly. Zach ducked around the remainder and dragged Jordan up onto his back.

'Close your eyes,' he whispered aggressively, scaring the boy into following his command. Zach ran back out of the caved in basement, killing the remaining men by stealing their lives, trying to be as messy as possible – the thought of Saskia stressing out over cleaning up the mess making him laugh manically.

When he reached the shivering girl, Jordan had passed out leaving him completely useless.

'Have the police come in?' he asked, the girl told him they hadn't, but had announced they would if no one came out.

'Do you know where the other exits are?'

'No…' she replied sheepishly, regretting not listening during the briefing.

'Hopeless!' he dumped Jordan on the ground next to the girl, where he moaned, slowly regaining consciousness.

'This is your mess, you two have to figure a way out of it.' Zach paced around the stairwell. He could get out no sweat, but he couldn't risk it with these two, and he really didn't feel it necessary to kill however many police officers were out there.

'I…have an idea,' a voice murmured softly.

Jordan stood up slowly, wavering a little and leaned on a wall.

'You need to get us out of here once it starts,' he looked over at Zach who nodded.

Faint tremors echoed around them, building their intensity with every wave. Jordan's eyes rolled back, and the whole building shook with a loud groan.

'Nice,' Zach commented, appreciating the destructive mess this would leave.

Jordan fainted after the third, heavy tremor ripped through the building. Zach took this as his cue and heaved the girl onto his back and held Jordan in his arms. As he ran through the collapsing building he praised fate for letting him have a feed tonight. He ran out past the officers who, too, were running from the building and swiftly yanked the door to his car open and dumped the two mutants in, before sliding into the front seat and driving off.

* * *

**A/N:** So, did that help? Is his mutation clearer?  
Ahh, feels like people have lost interest... Oh well, I'll keep posting.


	5. Found Out

**5. Found out. **

'Hey Saskia?' Zach's voice called through the door. The woman looked up from her desk and faced her client, flustered.

'Saskia?' he called out again.

'He's got the wrong room,' she muttered, pushing her chair back and standing up, 'I'll be one moment.'

She opened the door only to be greeted by the mischievous grin of a charged up teenager, wearing a bloodstained shirt that showed off his toned stomach through the rather large tears. She coughed, prying her eyes from his torso.

'It's Carrie when there are clients around,' she glared at him, not really wanting an answer to her next questions, 'what do you want? And… what happened?'

'I finished tailing your latest recruits… they were, well… there's some cleaning up to do.'

'Was this need for a cleanup created by you or by them?' she hissed at him.

'Oh, I can't say… it was such a blur,' he grinned back.

'Go see Lisa. She'll deal with it, you know that,' she raised an eyebrow.

'Yeah, yeah. Though, I suppose I came to tell you that there's a few new muties in the apartments. Haven't seen them, and I didn't know if you knew.' He had actually felt this new presence a few days earlier, but it had slipped his mind. He knew it would annoy Saskia, so he decided to mention it.

'Why couldn't you find out yourself?' she asked before popping her head back into the room, telling the man at her desk she wasn't going to be much longer.

'Because they're your hoes, not mine.'

Saskia rolled her eyes, turning away, adding investigating the new mutant to her ever growing to do list.

**x**

Saskia marched up to the apartment block with the room number written on her hand. She had already flushed out the humans that were living there, and recruited the other mutants; but this particular mutant never seemed to be home long enough for her to confront them.

Alice was eating a wonderful meal of dry bread and cheese that she had managed to swipe from a nearby grocery store, when someone barged her door down. She stumbled back from her chair and hid behind the door to her bedroom, trying to control her breathing.

'I know you're in here, and I know you're a mutant,' a female's voice called through the small rooms. Alice stayed still, biting her lip.

'This is _my_ building you're staying in, get out now!' Saskia yelled out again, walking slowly through the room, searching every corner. Alice ran from her hiding spot into the small bathroom that opened into her bedroom. She tripped over a brush lying on the ground and tumbled into the shower, shrieking as the tap gouged itself into her back.

Saskia ran in, and dragged Alice out by her arm, surprised at how light she felt.

'Right,' she flung Alice onto the sofa, 'how long have you been here?'

Alice didn't answer.

Saskia raised her hand and within moments it was engulfed within flames. Alice gasped and tried moving back.

'Talk!' Saskia moved forward, threatening Alice with her fiery hand. Alice tried to blink away, but something within her pushed her and she was staring the dark skinned, Gothic woman straight in her eyes. Within moments Alice was in her mind, searching for that power.

Some sort of mental discipline had her gliding through Saskia's mind, not taking any notice of the surroundings, and into where her power was contained. Alice grasped onto it, and allowed the power – and energy – to flow into her being.

She was reveling in the happiness that stealing powers and energy had always given her – vaguely aware of the fact that her whole body had caught on fire, and that Saskia was shouting and swearing loudly. It didn't hurt her; it just warmed her – making her happier. Alice let out a small giggle, which faded when the warmth disappeared abruptly and was replaced by a cold, rushing sensation.

Saskia had thrown water over the laughing girl – not sure if she was able to control her powers or not. Saskia managed to subdue the fire that was creeping away from the girl, but she couldn't extinguish the flames that surrounded her. Alice stopped laughing and as soon as it appeared as though what happened had dawned on her, she rose from her charred seat and ran into her room to find a change of clothing, ready to answer Saskia's questions.

**x**

She was a small girl – not tiny – who looked smaller in her oversized, old clothing that draped on her near starved body. She looked about nineteen, at most.

The girl cleared her throat awkwardly, and Saskia realized that she had been staring.

'The terms are quite simple. You want to live there; you have to work for me.' Saskia eyed the small backpack near the girl's feet.

'What would I be doing?' Alice asked, her Australian accent catching Saskia off guard.

'Well, it's quite obvious you're a mutant, and I'm a mutant-for-hire agency. People hire my mutants to do various odd jobs, and you get a cut. Clients pay a mint; I take sixty per cent until you move up to the big stuff – that's negotiable according to your performance.'

Alice stared at her, closing her jaw slowly.

'You're pyrokinetic, aren't you?'

That's right. She had used Saskia's powers, she bit her lip. What an idiot.

'I'd uh, rather not… talk about my powers…'

'How am I meant to give you the right job then?'

'You know I'm a mutant, isn't that enough?'

Saskia shook her head and pointed to the door, 'get out.'

**x**

Alice shifted uncomfortably as two people walked from the dark, grimy staircase, not understanding the look of sudden panic that had fallen over the young man as he glanced at her. The female – a blonde with every colour of the rainbow in her hair, and whose alternative clothing left little to the imagination – noticed Alice sitting awkwardly, gathered at one end of the sofa and approached her.

'Here to see Saskia?' she asked, getting awfully close to Alice, looking at her carefully.

She kept her eyes down low, despite Zoey's attempts to raise them.

'Shy eh? Well I'm Zoey,' she slid off the chair and hovered over to the guy she had entered with. He stood with his arms crossed and turned away from Alice's direction.

'This is Zacharias Thorn, or Zach,' she clutched his arm clearly showing he was her territory. He merely grunted and walked off, back down the stairs.

**x**

_Christ_, he thought wildly, his mind in disarray. It couldn't be that same girl. What if Zoey knew? She'd find out about his powers… what if that girl had seen him kill that homeless guy?

'What's wrong? Zoey asked, walking from the stairs over to him. She tugged on his arm, snapping him back to reality.

'Nothing. Any dirt on that new chick?' he asked as coolly as possible.

'Nope. Mind like a fortress, that one,' Zoey replied, letting a hint of suspicion escape, though, Zach was too relieved to notice.

'Why do you care?' she squeezed his hand, looking at him warily.

'No reason… the quiet ones are the crazy ones… so you never know,' he smiled.

**x**

'So you're telling me you want a job here… but you won't tell me anything about yourself?' Saskia sighed, holding her forehead in her hands. It was not a good day. On top of having to search out the apartments, Markus had created a messy situation on his last mission that she had to deal with. If only his parents had taught him how to use his powers before they packed up and left… and now this.

'All I know is my name and that it was my mutation that got me here…somehow. I would rather people not know,' Alice interrupted Saskia's thoughts. 'I need money to go home and accommodation.'

'You realize that without knowing your mutation, I can't really send you out on high-paying missions? Sending you out anywhere would be like walking blind into a room full of swords and land mines.'

Alice nodded, annoyed at the comparison, but appreciative that Saskia was still willing to employ her.

'And the fact that your quite obviously Australian, without any indication that you live in America… that poses some issues, such as, are you here illegally?' Saskia sighed.

'It'll take me time to find you something, so in the meantime, you can help out around here. Clean and stuff. Three days a week, fifty a day. You can have the spare room here; it's down that hallway behind the staircase that goes up. Keep the ground floor clean and you'll get your pay.'

Alice had to bite down on her lip to stop herself from yelling at this woman. She was pretty sure Saskia couldn't make her do this – but she was going to be paid. Downstairs couldn't be that much of a mess, could it?

'Right, I'm glad it's settled. Please fill these forms out as best as you can,' Saskia shoved some papers into Alice's hands and pushed her towards her new room.

* * *

**A/N:** Thanks for the reviews! C:


	6. Cleanout

**6. Cleanout. **

It was putrid.

Absolutely foul.

How anyone could even _consider_ living in a pig sty like this simply amazed her.

There were three rooms downstairs – two very large communal rooms – living area and the kitchen, as well as a bathroom. So far she had ventured into the kitchen and was busy admiring the fact that she was, quite literally, standing ankle deep in empty bottles of alcohol, soft drink cans and mouldy foods that missed the bin. If there was one to begin with. The good news was that clean water came from the taps, and after prying open a cabinet, she found a plethora of detergent, disinfectant, sponges and rubber gloves.

'You can thank Chelsea for that stuff,' a guy kicked his way through the mess over to her. He was taller than her, skinny and had short red hair. 'I'm Markus, uh, Markus Harrington, by the way.'

'Alice…Kaey,' she nodded, surprised that she had to make herself remember her surname. 'None of this stuff has been used before,' Alice pulled out an unopened packet of sponges, and showed him.

'Well, yeah, I think she left after she took a look at the bathroom…' he replied with a grin.

'Are you… are you serious?' she looked at him worriedly. He shrugged and crouched down next to her, helping her pull out the cleaning products.

'Does anyone actually use this room?' she asked once they were done.

'Not anymore. I remember it being clean when my mum was around here, but she left with dad and it sorta fell apart.'

They waded their way over to the hallway to escape the mess and walked into the living room.

'It's always empty in the morning, so you don't need to worry about some of the guys here…' he informed her, hurriedly hiding some of the more offensive material left behind.

'I see…' she spied a magazine and picked it up. 'You guys sure are cultured!' she laughed, watching as he went red.

'When do you get started on this dive?' he asked, after making room for them to sit down.

'In a couple of days. I've obviously been given time to psych myself up for this job,' she replied.

'So, um… your accent, it's not… American…' he tried to place it, but couldn't.

'I'm Australian,' she answered, 'well, I think I may have some Irish blood in me… but that's a long way down the line.'

'What are you doing here, then?' he asked, curious. It couldn't be that she was on a holiday. If she could afford a flight over, why would she sink to working in a place like this?

'I'm… not sure. Just sorta… found myself here, I guess,' she replied reminding herself of the hospital, and of that guy who had pushed her out the window, thus starting off this whole downward spiral of events.

'Everyone around here's like that… don't worry,' he smiled.

**x**

Markus was called away, and she was left on her own. Instead of exploring, she decided to check out her new room, though, she brought along the cleaning equipment – just in case.

Because the room was located behind the staircase going upstairs – to Saskia's room – it was fairly hidden. No one seemed to know it was there; something that was fairly obvious from all the dust that had settled. The door opened on the side of the room, an old looking wardrobe on the wall in front of her, a bed to her left and a large wall of boxes to her right.

She knew that being at the front of the house, that the tiny balcony would be connected to this room, on the wall opposite what was an old wrought iron bed, with a very decrepit looking mattress – no sheets, though. The room desperately needed air, so she worked on relocating all the boxes outside the room, sneezing through the entire process, until she managed to get to the large floor length window that seemed to work as a door to the small balcony. She walked outside with a broom, swept it clean and moved her mattress to get some air, before starting on the room itself.

**xxx**

It took her a week and a half of work to get through the kitchen – it probably would have taken longer if Markus didn't help out when he could. He made it bearable, by giving her someone to chat to, or even just someone to listen to while she was shoulder deep in rubbish. He was a telepath, and after some effort, they were able to communicate without even speaking, which made cleaning all the more entertaining. She had an inkling that he knew she was subtly borrowing his powers in order to keep up the link, but he never thought on the specific idea.

Markus gave her all the information that she'd need to survive around here, like, where to get the cheapest food, when the safest times to go out and where these safe places where.

'So, tell me about the people that hang out around here… I've really only spoken to you and Saskia,' Alice asked, whilst clearing out the fridge so she could scrub it down.

'Well… okay. There's me, the fun loving red-head,' he grinned, Alice rolled her eyes, but laughed. 'There's Lisa, she's in charge of sorting out the finer points of the business – when she lived in Japan she used to help her dad out with this sorta stuff. She's um… she can go invisible, I'm pretty sure.'

'Wish I could do that,' Alice commented, before grinning at herself. She _could_ do that, if she found this girl.

'Then there's Lisa's fiancé, Jeremy Norton,' Markus continued, not bothering to ask why Alice was smiling. 'He can alter reality, he hides out in his room most of the time. Into really creepy occult stuff – I haven't really spoken to him much, but he gets on with the oldies around here.'

'Oh, Zoey and –' he stopped, seeing Alice nod. 'You know her?'

'I've spoken to her…once before,' she remembered the incident. She had seen Zoey skulking around a few times, as if she was looking for something or someone. Probably that guy she was all possessive over.

'Yeah, she's the whole tele-package; ya know, telekinetic, telepathic…tele-everything,' Markus rolled his eyes, he was one among many, who believed she had too much power than what she should have, 'she's popular with the guys, rumor is, she puts out…fast.' Alice blinked, a little surprised. Zoey was going out with what seemed to be a really attractive guy… how could she want more? _What a floozy_, she thought to herself, making sure Markus heard it, who laughed.

'And then there's Saskia, who owns this place. We weren't the first agency around, but no one really bothers her…us… about it,' Markus replied, pushing his hair from his eyes as he cleared the junk from the top of the fridge.

'Are they scared of her or something?' Alice took a few steps back from the fridge to move the garbage bag away from her. 'Everyone seems to be walking on eggshells around her.'

'Oh, people are wary of her. She's our boss, but it's not her they're scared of. Compared to a lot of us, she's not really that powerful,' he chuckled.

'Then who?' Alice was keen on staying away from anyone who could beat Saskia, power-wise.

'Thorn, definitely.'

'Who?' It sounded familiar…but she wasn't sure where from.

'Oh, sorry, Zacharias Thorn. He's Zoey's boyfriend,' he eyed her for any suspicious reactions, aware of how girls go gaga over that tall, pale guy.

'Him? As if,' she laughed, he seemed so… lifeless; a pretty face with nothing behind it.

'Have you seen him?' Markus asked, finishing up with his job.

'Well, no… I haven't actually,' Alice admitted, every time he had graced her with his presence, she copped a good look of the back of his head, and maybe a quick glance at his profile, that was almost always hidden by his dark, shoulder-length hair.

'Ah, makes sense. Well, if you've been near the guy, you'd understand. There's something really off about him. People throw themselves at him, not because he makes them, but well, it's willing, but unwilling at the same time.'

'That makes him scary?' Alice asked in disbelief. She was waiting to hear that he had some sort of control over all things evil or something. Markus seemed eager to prove his point, and continued.

'He's been here two years and doesn't look any older than what he did when he got here. He's as pale as like… a vampire. He's been on all these hardcore assignments and comes back without a scratch, even if his clothes are torn up and covered in blood. I mean, I know there are mutants that can heal… but he's looked like he's been through explosions and massacres and…' Markus could have gone on and on, but truthfully, no one seemed to know much about Zach's mutation. They had theories, like, that he was a vampire, or one of Jeremy's reality bending tricks, but that was it. The latter seemed to make more sense, because at times, it was hard to believe that a creature such as Zach could really exist, and Jeremy's sick sense of humor meant it _could_ be possible…

Alice laughed at that theory, telling Markus that it was stupid to think anyone was perfect or god-like; by the way he was describing Zach.

Though, no matter how much Markus warned Alice of Zach, she couldn't help but find him a little intriguing.

**x**

'Alice?' It was a little past midday, and Alice was busy cleaning the giant glass doors that opened out to the backyard, when someone called for her.

'Oh, hey, uh…'

'Lisa,' the skinny Asian girl smiled. Alice nodded, returning to washing up the glass. A task she wanted to complete as fast as she could.

'You must be bored just cleaning,' the girl continued smiling politely, Alice shrugged in reply.

'I need the money.'

'So I hear. Listen, how would you like to make a bit more?'

'How?'

'Well, I have a job I don't… I can't do. I have engagements planned. Maybe you'd like to take it?' Lisa asked, playing with her straight, dark hair.

'I'd rather not… plus… Saskia,' Alice muttered. She longed to go out on an assignment, anything to make her time here a little more interesting.

'I've spoken to Saskia. She told me if I could find someone to do it, then it's okay. Please?'

'Uh… don't I need training or something?'

'Not really, no.'

'Uh… I guess… If it's okay,' Alice smiled, trying to conceal her enthusiasm.

'Wonderful! Final briefing is today at four, just before the assignment. Briefing room, it's next to my office.' Lisa left Alice, who was standing with her pink rubber gloves, in shock.

* * *

**A/N: **Sorry! I decided after posting the next chapter, that I wanted to combine it with the previous... Heh. It was taking far too long for anything to happen!


	7. Corsets and DogCollars

**AH! IMPORTANT!**

For those of you who aren't aware, I updated chapter 6; it's longer and leads up to this chapter. Now I'm not saying you HAVE to read it, I'm just telling you all because I don't want anyone to be confused!

* * *

**7. Corsets and dog-collars.**

Lisa was rushing over the details to both Alice and Zoey – the two who were on the job. Zach watched silently from the back of the room, near the door. He had to drive them there and to make sure the newbie didn't get herself killed. After what happened last time, he decided to make it to the briefing.

He was taking Alice to an underground club where she had to distract the occupant of a room in the hotel above long enough for Zoey to get in and grab some important papers with stock information.

Fairly easy stuff.

He could see why Lisa wanted to offload the job.

'Uh…wouldn't Zoey do a better job at distracting? I mean, no offence…' Alice murmured, biting her lip.

She was second guessing herself. Great start, Zach grimaced. She was right though, Zoey _would_ do a better job. In fact, he wasn't even sure why they needed a second person.

'Aw! Don't worry, I'll set you up!' Zoey beamed, imagining a make-over scenario.

He slunk out, feigning disinterest as Zoey rushed around looking for whatever makeup she could find.

By six they were ready. Zoey was looking as sexy as always in her skin-tight leather suit, Lisa was already gone. Probably off with Jeremy.

'How do I look?' Zoey twirled around in front of Zach. They were waiting downstairs for Alice.

'Great,' he replied, as she sat down on his lap, playing with his hair. He grinned, lapping up the attention.

'I wish you'd let me colour your hair… I mean, brown?' she whined playfully, pulling his hair in front of his eyes.

'No way, next thing I know, I'll be wearing plaid skirts and fishnets with a dog-collar around my neck.'

She leant back, pouting. 'Yeah… as if you'd ever let me lead you around on a leash. Especially when you won't let me do that in priv— '

'Hey Zoey? Are you sure I can get into the club wearing this?'

Zach and Zoey both looked up as Alice peeked her head into the room. Her eyes covered in black, shimmering eye shadow, her lips looking almost blood stained, though, the way she was biting them, they probably were.

'Come in!' Zoey slid off Zach's lap, who shifted back, turning his attention to the television. Alice still hadn't recognized him, probably because it was too dark for her to remember. He hadn't spoken to her either.

Alice walked in, wearing a black cocktail dress with delicate black lace trimmings and what seemed like a corset around her waist.

Obviously one of Zoey's dresses, Zach thought as he caught a glimpse.

Zoey eyed her creation, deciding it would have to do. Alice wasn't as petite as Zoey now that she was able to start eating properly, and had to sacrifice the ability to breathe deeply in order to wear the corset portion of the ensemble.

Zach saw her blush slightly, got up and left before he could say anything stupid, or comment on the fact that she was still biting her lip.

'Alright, the plans have changed. There are guards in the room now, so we're gonna have to get rid of them. So, see what you can do about that… otherwise I'll have to deal with them,' Zoey winked.

Zach drove them, in total silence, to the club; an underground club whose hostesses were all well known mistresses of the area.

'It's a hotspot for businessmen. So you're sure you know what he looks like?'

Alice nodded.

'Mic in? Ear piece in? Alright, go. When you give the signal that the room is clear, I'll go in and get what we need. Zach will be here, just in case.'

He slid out of the car, and stood in the dark, away from Alice, keen on avoiding her as much as possible.

'Oh, Zach, remind me to tell you about that file!' Zoey yelled out from the driver seat window, with a broad smile across her face. Alice looked over at Zach who rolled his eyes and slunk back into the shadows.

Alice watched sadly as Zoey buckled into the front seat and drove off.

She was stuck with this speechless, morose and handsome guy. Uncomfortable couldn't begin to describe how she felt.

She breathed in heavily and entered the club, Zach trailing silently behind.

As soon as they entered the dimly lit establishment – which was really, only large room with a long bar down the far end – Zach could sense something was amiss.

Alice looked around curiously at the fetish paraphernalia that decorated the space. She was too intrigued to keep her head in the game; Zach shook his head at her awe.

'Zacharias?'

He whipped around and met with a pale, thin woman with fiery red hair and very little on. 'Marissa?' he grinned.

'Not Marissa. It's Scarlet now.' She hugged him. Alice watched as Zach laughed and got comfortable. She began searching for the man.

When she had entered, she really didn't know how she was going to do this – or how they expected her to – but as soon as she saw him, she realized.

Alice didn't expect much from the description and blurred picture, but, whoa. He had long, straight blonde hair, with the most captivating green eyes. She didn't dare approach him, but she caught his eye and smiled uncontrollably. He waved her over and she followed, cursing her lack of control over her facial muscles.

'Hello,' he smiled, completely dazzling her.

'Hi,' she giggled. _Ah, no! Don't fall in love with him. Eyes up!_ She ordered herself, trying to stop checking him out.

Zach's phone rang; it was Zoey.

'Zoey?' Crap, he had forgotten her code name.

'Damn it, Zach. Get yourself and Alice out!' she urged.

'Why? What's happened?'

'The apartment was bare, except one guy who just let James know you're there. They know… and there are a few muties there too…'

'Alright. Go back to uh…' he searched his mind for Saskia's code name, '… Carrie's now. I'll meet you there.' He hung up before Zoey could argue.

He glanced over at Alice, who was still oblivious of what was happening – and from the way she was letting James' hand rest on her thigh, everything else too. He tensed up; how dare she let that swine touch her like that?

'So, what did you say your name was?' James asked Alice, his hollow voice breaking his hold on her. The way he had broken his spell on her startled Alice so much that out of instinct, she felt her powers begin to start up, and before she could stop herself, she had tumbled into James' mind.

This can't be good, she thought – or said – to herself. She wandered around, looking for anything that she could use against him, in case she had to explain herself. She was drifting without realizing, to his energy – his life force, and before she knew it she was stealing that from him.

He wasn't a mutant though, so there was no mutation to copy. Except, perhaps, some other information. She took what she thought was D.N.A. information and scooted back into her own mind, where they both seemed to snap back to reality.

James was still staring at her in her eyes, blankly. She was feeling different; like something within her was moving, changing. She looked at her hands, staring wide-eyed as they transformed, looking bigger and manlier.

'Oh god!' She looked over helplessly at Zach, who was rushing over to her. He reached Alice and gasped; she wasn't quite Alice anymore, instead she was transforming into James.

'If this is your power, stop it!' he hissed at her.

'I can't!' Alice bit her lip, looking into Zach's ice blue eyes, hoping he'd help her.

'Doesn't matter, we have to get out—' he heard something click behind her. Alice gasped in horror.

'Mutants,' James had recovered and was fully alert, 'you have no place here.' He pulled the trigger of the gun resting at the back of Zach's head, blood spraying onto Alice. She gasped loudly as he turned the gun on her.

* * *

**A/N:** Sorry about the chapter 6 hiccup .  
I hope this chapter makes up for it. If not, can you hold out 'til the next?

And, thanks to _Certh _and _freegirl _who's encouraging reviews make me smile! :)


	8. Pain in the leg?

**8. Pain in the…leg?**

The shock of having a loaded gun pointed at her face had stopped Alice from uncontrollably transforming, and she was back to her normal self. He cocked the gun, but before he could do anything else, his eyes went wide and he gasped in pain, before collapsing on the floor, writhing around in agony.

Alice relaxed, before realizing that Zach could quite possibly be dead right now. She looked over at his body; blood pouring out from the back of his head. She crouched down next to him, wincing as the corset dug into her ribs, and looked into his open eyes. They were moving around quickly, as if scanning the area around him – was this normal for people who got shot in the head? She bit her lip. Maybe she could borrow his mutation and get them out; he did seem to have superhuman speed… but the blood.

All that blood.

She gulped and looked deep into his eyes, though, before she could do anything he blinked long and hard.

'No,' he croaked weakly.

Zach had never been shot close range before, and never in the head.

He had quickly lost the use of his body, making him collapse, and now he had Alice who looked as if she was ready to use her powers – powers that he was sure would be bad news for her if she used them on him.

He watched as Alice was pulled away from Zach by one of James' goons; she didn't struggle, she just stared at Zach, wide-eyed, waiting for something.

But he couldn't move, not until he healed. He could feel the pain flowing out of him, and he egged it on to move faster. Alice didn't seem to have much of an offensive power, and he could see from the hungry stares of the guards, just what would happen to her. What happened to her pyrokinetic powers that Saskia had told them about?

Within moments, the transparent black energy ooze had stopped flowing, and the wound had healed.

James was beginning to awaken, but Zach was hungry now, and he stole his life without thinking twice.

Zach charged through the cluster of guards surrounding Alice, killing anyone he saw – there couldn't be any witnesses, and fortunately, the other customers had already fled – took Alice's hand and threw her on his back.

He attempted to run out, but was slowed down severely by the limited space he had to move, and because they were shooting at him – and were getting his legs.

By the time he reached the exit, there weren't many left; and with all the energy he had consumed he was healing within seconds of getting shot. The three remaining dropped down before him and he trudged out, helping Alice off his back.

'Are you alright?' he asked, looking at her, slumped against a tree, biting her lip.

'Did you kill them?' she gasped out loud.

'That doesn't matter… are you okay?'

She could see him clearly now, under the bright fluorescent street lights, for the first time.

He was taller, which she knew already, but statuesque. And he had a familiar pale skin tone… But Markus was right. There was something definitely off about him… something that drew her to him, but pushed her away at the same time. She blushed, imagining how grotesque she must look compared to him.

'Are… you… your head…oh my god,' she looked at him, not leaving her spot next the tree.

'Uh, yeah, I heal fast. Part of my mutation, I guess. Listen, you can't stay out here, you'll get sick and…the police,' Zach explained, knowing it was quite cold, and she had left her coat in the car. Alice frowned. What he just said, and that accent… she hadn't heard him speak much before… and it was all so familiar.

'Have we… met before?' she asked softly.

'Uh, no…' he tried to reply as calmly as possible, slowly walking off, 'we need to head back.' The alarm bells were ringing in his head.

'Oh, my, god.'  
She had whispered it, but he had heard.  
He knew what that meant.

'It was you!' she yelled out, limping over towards him. He looked down at her leg, which was bleeding.

'YOU pushed me out that window!' she screamed at him.

'I…uh… wasn't thinking,' he replied, startled at how she was reacting.

'Not thinking?! Do you have any idea what this has done to me? I woke up in a foreign country, you push me out a window and then you LEAVE ME? What did you think, I'd just walk it off, and everything would be alright?' she fought back the swearing and violence she wanted to let loose on him.

'I… ' he began, not really knowing where he was going with that. He didn't really think about what would have happened to her when he left her in the alley. He was a little more concerned about the state of her leg.

'Why didn't you stay at the hospital?' he asked quietly, Alice walked right up to him.

'Because,' she glared at him, 'they guessed I was a mutant for having survived a fall like that.'

He backed off and looked at her leg, which was now bleeding profusely. Alice saw where his attention was and looked too, – the pain only just registering. She collapsed on the ground and touched the area. It must've been a bullet. It didn't go all the way through, but it hadn't broken anything. She went pale as she saw the amount of blood pouring from the excruciating wound.

Zach pulled off his sweater and tore a long piece out of it, and attempted to help her bandage it up.

'Don't touch me,' she hissed, backing away on her hands. She tied the material around her leg, wincing in pain, and stood up, leaning heavily on her good leg.

'Let me help you,' Zach approached her, but she limped back. 'You won't make it back like that; you're losing too much blood!' Was that… concern in his voice? He shook his head.

Alice stormed past him defiantly, but only made it to the street corner before collapsing and completely blacking out.

* * *

**A/N:** Whee, another update! Hope it isn't too bad..


	9. Ice Cold

**9. Ice-cold.**

Alice woke up in her room, still wearing the clothes from her assignment, minus the corset.

It was morning, and the sun poured in from the curtain-less windows. She looked down at her leg, which was bandaged properly, and didn't hurt as much. She got up, and changed into a purple long-sleeved shirt and black baggy pants before limping out.

As she walked out, she was greeted by Saskia, who looked disappointed.

'Did Zoey get the information?' she asked. Saskia shook her head and told her that her client would be coming this afternoon to find out what they managed to get.

'I…uh, might be able to help,' Alice mumbled. It might mean revealing a little more about her mutation, but she felt compelled to help Saskia.

'How?'

'I know… what the information is.' Alice went on to recite the information she had taken from James' mind when she invaded it. Saskia stared at her, joy overcoming her entire being.

'You don't have to clean up today… just, take it easy,' Saskia patted Alice on the back and walked into her office. 'Come by at three, you can tell them what you know.'

Alice wandered down the stairs, listening to the bustle that was coming from the now useable kitchen. She smiled to herself and walked in, and set about preparing something to eat.

'Hey Alice,' Markus walked in, rubbing his eyes. 'Good to see you around at last.'

'Huh? What do you mean?' she asked, buttering her toast.

'You were out of it for a while. A day or so,' he went through the fridge.

'Ahhh… no wonder I feel so awake,' she said , taking a bite.

Zach walked into the kitchen just as Alice sat down. He braced himself when he saw her, and slowly backed out, not wanting to upset her. Unfortunately, he wasn't aware that she had moved the metal bin, and he tripped and thumped into the wall.

Both Markus and Alice looked up, and there was a long, drawn out icy glare that pierced through into Zach, who apologized and briskly walked out.

'What was that about?' Markus jabbed his thumb out the doorway.

'He's a jerk,' she replied, mouthful of toast.

**x**

Zach raced back home, still somewhat in shock from Alice's reaction to his presence. He didn't expect it to be that bad… after all he did save her life that night. Though, he still shuddered at the thought of James' hand on her leg, and what would have happened to her had she been left on her own with those men…

He rested on his bed, wondering why he was suddenly protective over this girl. Or, at least what she thought of him. She wasn't like Sophie, back when he was with the Hellfire Club, who needed his help, his protection. But, she didn't seem like she was as much of a fighter that she was trying to be.

'Ahh!' he sighed out loud, 'this makes no sense!' He didn't know what to make of this girl. One moment she's quietly working on her own, next she's chatting with people as if she's known them for years, and then she's yelling at him. Not that he'd been paying close attention to her or anything… maybe he had grown so used to the stereotypical 'alternative' girls that were everywhere here that her obvious difference to them forced him to be a little… curious? They were all extroverted, loud and complete bombshells. She seemed so different to that.

He turned over and looked at his clock.

Zoey was going to come over soon.

A nice distraction was what he needed.

She didn't barge in; the door was already open, waiting for her. Zoey smiled at the change. It was like he actually wanted her there.

'Zach?' she called out to silence, turning slowly.

The door slammed shut.

'Oh…well, since you're not coming out, I'll just go ahead and destroy both our libido's with a few cheesy fifties movies!' she yelled out again, grinning to herself.

Suddenly, she was pushed onto the couch, with Zach all over her. She let out a giggle that made Zach pause. It didn't suit her.

'Hey Zach?' she asked as he kissed her.

'Hm?' he grunted in reply, failing at undoing all the buttons on her shirt – confused as to which were decorative and which were real.

'William told me that you and that new chick had an argument.'

'It was nothing,' he grumbled, annoyed that she had brought it up.

'If you say so…it's just,' she paused, deciding not to go on. Zach stopped what he was doing and sat up, Zoey doing the same.

'What is it Zoey?' he asked.

'Well, I don't know… it's nothing. You just seem… on edge around her,' she began fixing her top.

'What are you getting at?'

'There's…there's nothing going on between you two, right?'

Zach almost choked. 'No! She hates me!'

'Why?' Zoey stared at him questioningly. What did it matter to her anyway? Zach knew she was seeing at least two other guys anyway. And she never really complained about him seeing other girls…

'I don't know, she's just weird,' Zach shrugged it off.

'Well, good… She stuck with Markus anyway,' she snickered.

'Who?' Zach asked before he could stop himself.

'...that red-head that was left here by his parents,' Zoey raised her eyebrows as Zach stiffened. What was she doing hanging out with _him_?

Zoey got up off the couch, and pulled her bag towards her.

'Remember what I said about the file?' Zoey asked, changing the subject. She flung a folder on the coffee table in front of him.

'Where'd you get this?' he asked, but Zoey ignored the question.

'Now, the pictures are blurry and the information is vague at best, but we're looking for a girl called Melanie Smith, from – ', but Zach cut her off. He didn't want to know.

'You stole this from Saskia, didn't you?'

'She said I could take any assignment as long as it worked within our ethics. I'm not meant to kill this girl, just take her back. I don't know why Saskia was so against it anyway.'

'Does she know you've taken this particular assignment?'

'Well, no. But you aren't going to tell her, are you?' she sidled up to him, 'I mean, you wouldn't do that to me… this guy is offering more money than we can imagine. We'll be able to move away and never have to work like this again!'

Zach sighed, but agreed despite knowing that he had more then enough money saved to move away at least five times.

'But, if anyone asks, I'm just going to deny I know anything,' he added, fully aware that he should indeed, tell Saskia.

* * *

**A/N:** This chapter is either sooner or later then what I intended... either way, here it is!  
Ah, and I also changed the name of the story ... again... What do you guys think of this one? I'm open for suggestions!  
Don't forget to review! : )


	10. The Horror!

**10. The horror!**

'Hey Zach!' Zoey called out as he walked into the kitchen at Saskia's one night, later on that week. Now that it was clean, he rather enjoyed sitting in that room to read or just relax. Knowing this, Zoey always attempted to draw him out to the more social part of the house – the living room.

'C'mon, Jason's starting a movie, everyone's coming!' she pleaded, messily going through each cupboard looking for popcorn. Zach followed her around, absentmindedly picking up everything she had scattered and placing them back on the shelves.

'What movie?' he asked as she threw the popcorn kernel packet into the microwave.

'I think it's some old school horror film,' she was practically jumping around. Zach couldn't imagine how else she could fit her Goth stereotype.

'You're not…sick of them?' he sure was. He was never really into slasher films; he preferred action, explosions and all. Zoey rolled her eyes and took the hot popcorn out from the microwave.

'Please?' she pleaded distractedly, hugging Zach. She was looking past him, so he turned around and watched as Alice walked down the stairs and towards the kitchen, with a look on her face showing that she was aware they were both looking at her.

Alice walked straight past them and towards the fridge.

She opened the door and crouched down low to hide a much needed look of confusion.

Why were they staring at her? Was there something on her face? Was _he_ planning on pushing her out another window or something? She looked to her side to the large glass doors that opened out to the backyard in fear.

She grabbed a can of soda and slammed the door shut.

Zoey looked as though she was analysing every step she made, and as she walked past the two, Zach backed off from Zoey, getting free of her grip.

_That was really weird_, Alice thought, walking into the living room. Some of the recruits had organized a movie night, and she decided to go along. With Markus not around, she realised how little she spoke to the other mutants.

'What was that about?' Zach asked Zoey, who looked as if she was calculating something. 'Zoey?' he waved his hand in front of her face.

'Oh, sorry. I zoned out. Let's go then!' she replied, trying to cover her sudden strange behavior.

The movie began as soon as someone turned off the lights, tripping over the ten or so people lying on the floor. There was the usual chatting at the beginning, but as the story progressed everyone lost interest in one another and focused on the film. Zoey looked as if she was in some euphoric trance, so Zach let his eyes wander from the screen.

Even though it was dark, he could see her clearly, sitting against a wall, next to another girl he had seen a few times. The girl was clutching her arm with a look of terror on her face, Alice looking slightly amused. She didn't look like she was concentrating on the movie, though.

The television let out a long, high-pitched scream as someone was slaughtered ruthlessly by the masked villain, and the room erupted in cheers and shrieks, Zach returned his focus to the television.

Alice looked over as the near-naked female co-star was hacked to death and saw Zach staring blankly at the movie. Everyone else seemed to be reacting in either disgusted or sadistic delight, but he didn't. It didn't even look like he was watching the movie.

Not wanting to have to sit through the next two hours trying to get a glimpse at him as his weird girlfriend was getting a little _too_ into the movie, she stood up and quietly left, hoping to escape to her bedroom.

Realizing halfway up the stair case that she had left her drink in the living room, she descended the stairs and walked back into the kitchen to get a new one.

She was still angry at Zach, there was no doubt about it, but she was long past wanting to talk about it. It was obvious he was avoiding the issue altogether, so she did likewise. The harder she worked, the more she'd earn, and the faster she'd be able to get back to Australia.

She climbed back up the stairs with a new drink in her hand, trying hard to remember whatever she could.

Since she had woken, she had been trying to remember, hoping that even the smallest amount of information about what happened in those two years would surface. Though, it never would, and she would go to sleep at night, hoping for a revelation in the morning. But all she would get were dreams of Blaine, forever trapped outside his body, and never being able to see her friends again.

Alice had tried calling home and sending letters to her parents, but got no reply. This confused her, because they never hated her. Sure they were afraid, but… she never thought it'd ever be more than that…

She was considering talking to one of the telepaths to help her remember, but the thought of someone finding out anything about her or her mutation frightened her too much to go through with it.

And really, apart from Markus (who she really didn't want to share her whole life story to), Zoey was the only other telepath she knew.

The way she was acting around her wasn't exactly comforting. Alice had caught her a few times looking at her with a puzzled expression, and on occasion, following her around.

Once the carnage on the television had subsided he turned to study Alice again, but she had gone. He could hear soft footsteps on the floor above.

What was she doing up there? He was tempted to ask Zoey but quickly decided against it. Only a select few were able to go upstairs after hours. Everyone here respected that rule.

He whispered a clumsy excuse to Zoey and walked calmly out of the room.

Zach was halfway up the stairs when the pungent smell of paint fumes assaulted him. He had never liked that smell before, and he could feel his gagging reflex start up.

'What the hell is she doing up here?' he asked himself, holding his breath as he quickly ascended the stairs. He did a quick check of the three main rooms, but she was nowhere to be found.

He turned a corner and looked up the staircase that led to Saskia's room. She might've gone up there, but he was doubtful. Alice may have saved Saskia's backside by giving her that information, but she wouldn't have gone that far to thank her.

The smell was getting stronger down this hall, though. Zach looked past the staircase and towards the small storage room. She was in there; he could sense her, even though the fumes were clogging his own senses. He walked cautiously towards the door – the smell getting more intense. How was she breathing up here? What was she trying to do, suffocate herself?

He panicked and rushed to the door, flinging it open.

'Excuse me?' Alice jumped up off her bed, startled. 'What are you doing here?'

'I smelt paint fumes…I thought…' he looked in awe around the room. It used to be a spare bedroom, but it had turned into storage space a long time ago. It was transformed now. The once dusty, stained floor was now cleaner with most of the suspicious stains gone. The walls were a creamy white colour, and the wide window – which was opened – had purple curtains flapping around them.

'Probably because I just painted,' she snapped.

'Yeah, I can see…'

'Are you here to apologize?' Alice got up from her bed and crossed her arms, standing a fair distance from him.

'No,' he replied blankly. Zacharias Thorn didn't apologize to anyone. He turned to leave, not bothering to close the door behind him.

'Why would you care anyway?' she muttered under her breath. Zach glanced behind at the short, brown haired girl who looked as if she was putting all her strength into standing up to him. He didn't care, he replied, and walked away.

Alice sighed and flopped on her bed. It was hard work keeping her composure around that guy, no matter how mad she was at him.

**x**

He returned to witness twenty more minutes of bloodthirsty madness when Zoey got bored and dragged him out, rambling on about that assignment she had stolen.

They arrived at her apartment – a place Zach tried to avoid visiting. The walls were each painted in deep reds and purples, and the ceilings and floorboards were black, making the rooms much smaller than they actually were.

And, on top of that, Zoey opted for an array of bright, white lights as well as a plethora of black-lights. The latter being the one he hated the most and the one Zoey liked to use all the time. The black-lights seemed to burn through him – it was awful. She knew, but thought he was overreacting.

'So, anyway, I was going through some of this stuff today,' she held up a few official-looking papers, 'and I found this description of some facility.' Zoey passed the papers to Zach who peered at them, uninterested. It seemed to be some enrolment forms for a school type place.

This kid, Blaine Marsos, came from a place called Newcastle in Australia. He grinned, of course Australia would use the names of places in England. He was a mutant that could detach his spirit from his body.

'Yeah, so?'

'Well, it looks like this place wasn't just a place for mutants like Xavier's. It was like, well, a weird recruiting joint. Worked for you guys,' she answered, reading through another piece of paper.

'Us guys?' he placed the forms down.

'You Brits. The Australian Government had no idea about it… or that's what it seems.' She smiled at him, proudly showing off what she had learnt.

'So, this person that you have to find…'

'Yeah, well, _she's_ here, in America. Close by, if what I've concluded is right; it wasn't the hardest thing to figure out' Zoey got stood up and walked to her kitchen, 'coffee?'

Zach fiddled with the papers as she made herself something to nibble on.

There wasn't much information about the girl herself, rather information about what she may have done, and where she had come from. She seemed to be something close to a mercenary, created by this facility, among several other young mutants. She was sent to America to do something – that was blacked out – and never completed it or returned. There was also nothing about her mutation.

Zoey returned and placed a cup of hot coffee in front of Zach, 'I think it's weird that they didn't tell us about her mutation,' she commented, as if reading his mind.

He looked at the mug and wondered if she remembered that he couldn't drink – or eat – anything. Typical absent-minded Zoey.

'You have an idea who it is?'

'C'mon Zachy, as if you didn't realize. Who do we know that's Australian, has no memory of anything between now and two years ago, and refuses to tell anyone about her mutation?'

'Alice?'

'Melanie Smith,' she grinned taking a sip.

* * *

  
**A/N:** Blaine Marsos is my own character from _The Key_.  
Erm, I know I'm losing readers with this story, which is a little sad.  
Well, it's quite sad for me. Sigh.


	11. Time

**11. Time.**

_It couldn't be Alice_, he thought, studying a blurred photo. This figure had shorter, darker hair, pulled back into a tight pony-tail, and she had the same hardened look on her face that he saw in the mutants recruited by the Hellfire Club going into battle against the X-Men alongside Magneto.

That look of someone ready to do their job, no matter how grim it was.

He couldn't place that expression on Alice, but he could see their similarities. The person in the photo shared Alice's profile, her almost oval face and slightly rounded shoulders.

'Are you sure?' he questioned her. Zoey laughed.

'Of course I am.'

'Have you well, read her mind on it?'

'That's the thing. I can't. I've tried so many times, but she's got these awesome mental blocks, and she doesn't even seem to be trying. She couldn't have learnt that on her own – someone would have taught her something like that,' Zoey rested her head in her hands.

'Maybe we should tell her someone's looking for her…' Zach started, aware that Zoey would go into this, powers blazing, 'I mean, she wants to go back anyway…'

'Ah, but here's the sweetest part; they want her alive, but incapacitated. Apparently, she's dangerous,' Zoey replied looking smug.

'Zach, I have a question,' she suddenly looked serious, 'what happened that night in the club?'

'Nothing!' he replied, stunned at the sudden change in conversation.

'Not like that,' she rolled her eyes, 'I mean, she _must've_ used her powers to get that information out of James. Did you see anything happen?'

'Well, when I looked over, it looked like she had just come out of a trance, and she was transforming into James.'

'Did she use her pyrokinesis?' Zoey asked, remembering what Saskia had told them of when she had gone to investigate the new mutant.

'Nope,' he replied, remembering that even though he was shot in the head at point blank, he still had to rescue her.

'Hmmm… how strange.' Zoey rose from her seat again and left to her room. Zach returned his attention to the folder, flipping through each paper more carefully now looking for anything on the facility.

Unfortunately, there was little information given on it, but from what he could tell, for a short while it was run by a mutant named John Simons, who died a few years ago. From then it was taken over by British intelligence, which employed "_certain thought and behavioral therapy and modification on potential recruits_". If this was true, then Alice would be confronted by Zoey – and eventually these people – who would treat her as an offender of treason – running from her mission to protect the country and Her Majesty, whether or not she remembered what happened to begin with.

She would have no idea.

'I've decided to confront her as soon as she's out of Saskia's sight, just in case…after I have more of an idea of what to expect,' Zoey watched Zach read through the information, 'want to come along?'

'I…don't think so,' he replied blandly, still thinking of Alice being ambushed. Zoey noticed his lack of enthusiasm and packed up the papers. Zach watched as she worked silently. This was a girl – no, woman – who lived for excitement. There was no way she was just going to have a normal, decent chat with Alice about the assignment. She'd make sure she'd get some fight out of it. A little action. Anything less would be boring.

'You aren't going to tell Saskia, are you?' she asked, pausing in front of him.

He sighed. 'Tell her what?'

He left Zoey's place earlier than she would've liked, but he needed to get away from her for a while. Zach knew that he should probably ignore the urge to rush up to tell Alice that she was about to be hunted down and escorted – with force – back to Australia, but he still felt obligated to Zoey.

'Alright Zach, I want you to hear what I've figured out. I mean, I'm pretty certain most of this is correct, okay?' Zoey approached him as he was leaving Lisa's office, having declined another guarding assignment. She whisked him into the empty briefing room, and sat herself on the desk.

'Okay, so this place obviously re-programs mutants for recruiting and it's run by the England, and the rest of Australia doesn't know a thing about it. So it's probably a means of England keeping an eye over the country – so, technically, Alice has committed treason… well, not just Alice, but you know what I mean,' Zoey rolled out without taking a breath.

'That makes…some sense.'

'But, it's not the Australian Government that's hired us, well me, which means they still don't know. So maybe, she was sent her here on a mission, but she ran away?'

'That doesn't make sense. She was in a hospital before coming here, and why would she be working here to go back?' he retorted without thinking.

'She was in a hospital?'

'Uh, yeah,' Zach prayed this was information she had simply forgotten. 'I heard Markus talk about it,' he added, just in case.

'Hm,' she leant back, resting on her arms, deep in thought.

'Well, maybe then… she failed her mission here?' he suggested.

'I guess… which means they want her back because she's like their property.'

'And no one wants damaged goods…'

Zoey shook her head, still not fully convinced.

'They still want her incapacitated… how am I meant to do that without force?' she questioned him.

'Maybe she'd go willingly?' he shrugged. It was with that quick comment that he realized that she'd be walking back into the people she may have tried to escape once before… but she'd be going back to the very people responsible for turning her into a human – no, mutant – weapon. What would happen if she returned?

That sort of empathy was something Zoey couldn't understand. She lived in her own world, only coming out when she wanted human contact.

'I'm not going to rely on that, you know me well enough Zach. It'd be boring any other way.' She slid off the desk and walked over to Zach, who was now standing by the door.

'Saskia is going out tonight,' she placed her hand on the door knob and opened the door, only to be stopped by Zach.

'Can't you just tell her? I mean, as if she looks like she's got any fight in her…'

'Zach, okay, I get was cute at first, but really, please get over it!' Zoey tried to push past him.

'What? You think I'm looking out for her or something? I just don't think this is very fair!' he held up against her.

'It's nice to see you've finally developed a nice sense of morals,' she said poignantly. 'You don't know half the shit I do about her, and if you did you wouldn't be telling me to sit her down and talk about it.' Zoey fished around in her bag and pulled out a thin, blue folder, and shoved it in Zach's hands.

'They sent me it this morning, so I could _prepare_ myself. Read it and then tell me what you think,' Zoey pushed past him and stormed out.

**x**

He couldn't believe what he had just read.

Zach leant hunched over the papers, his head resting in his hands.

Even if she had done half the stuff written here, it seemed even less likely that she would've done it willingly. But Zoey was on her warpath, and nothing was going to get in her way. In a few more hours, Zoey was going to let loose on Alice, without any thought and he was powerless to help – as always.

He collected the papers and left for his apartment.

**xx**

It was nearing six o'clock, meaning Saskia would leave in the next few minutes. She had given Alice permission to use the computer in her office to see if she could contact home. Alice hadn't been able to check for emails for a few weeks, seeing as though Markus' parents had taken him away for the past two weeks on a holiday. She pulled on her thick socks and jumper, grinning at her disheveled appearance. She really felt at home here now.

'Alice?' a familiar male's voice called from her door. She ignored it, knowing who it was.

'Alice, can you open the door? I have something important to tell you.' It was Zach, and no she wasn't going to let him in. She scoffed at the thought that he assumed she would.

After a few minutes his calls ended and she returned to getting dressed into her pajamas. With Saskia gone, no one could come upstairs, so she could walk around like she owned the place.

She had just pulled her shirt on when her door was knocked down with a heavy thud, but before she could shriek, a cool hand clasped over her mouth.

'Just… listen, okay?' he whispered in her ear, she nodded quickly. He let her go and she ran over to her bed, reaching for something below her pillow.

'I don't know when, but Zoey is going to come soon, to uh… collect you.'

'What?'

'Well, she got this assignment, from… people who are after you,' he replied awkwardly.

'Who's after me? What are you talking about?' Alice asked, barely processing what was happening.

'Back in Australia, something uh, happened… and you came here, and now they're looking for you. Zoey's not keen on negotiations, and it sounds like they aren't either… so I'm here to tell you to get a head start…'

'Why should I? I've been wanting to get back home anyway…'

'I don't think you want to be going back with these people, though…' he began. He was reluctant to tell her anything more than that, afraid of how she'd react knowing what he now did.

'Why?' If it meant she could get back home, she really didn't care who she was going with.

'They're people that worked with some facility, there was a John Simons…' he stopped as her expression darkened.

'H-He's looking for me?' she whispered.

'They're all looking for you,' he grimaced, sitting down on the far end of the bed.

'No,' she got up off her bed and walked to the door, standing defiantly next to it. Zach was impressed at her will power at a time like this.

'No, what?' he too stood up, towering over her.

'I don't believe you, so can you… can you just leave?' she crossed her arms and looked sternly at him. Zach shrugged and began walking out.

'I'm only trying to help,' he called out as he walked towards the stairs.

'Why?' she muttered, picking up the door with great difficulty and resting it in its frame.

As he reached the bottom step, he heard the front door open, and felt Zoey's familiar energy enter the house, not knowing what else to do, he ran quickly back up the stairs and snuck quietly back into Alice's room and hid in the shadows. She wasn't in there, though.

'Alice!' Zoey's voice echoed around downstairs. From his spot he could hear soft footsteps running quickly from one of the rooms upstairs. The broken door slid from its spot as Alice ran in, her breath fast. She picked up a small backpack and raced around her room shoving stuff in it – it seemed as though she was beginning to believe him now. Alice quickly got changed out of her sleepwear, much to Zach's embarrassment and called out to Zoey.

'I'm coming!'

Zach stared at her in horror as she finished collecting her belongings and moved towards the door. She stood, taking one last look around the room, and smiled.

An extra set of footsteps echoed up the stairs as Zoey made her way over.

Without thinking, Zach bounded out of his spot in the shadows and grabbed Alice by the waist and pulled her back into her room.

With one arm keeping her still and the other clasped over her mouth, he shook his head fervently.

'Assume this is my apology,' he whispered as he opened the window and jumped off the balcony and into the night.

**xxxxx**

**A/N:** In _Vampyre_, the Hellfire Club donated some mutants to Magneto's disposal in X3.  
Wooo, it's getting somewhere. And, I decided to keep posting it. Why? Because I wrote the damn thing! Heh heh heh -cackles insanely-

Sorry if this chapter is a little long...  
And what's with the line breaks not working? How strange...

Thanks to my two most awesome reviewers!  
You guys are awesome :D


	12. Kidnapped

**12. Kidnapped.**

'Why did you bite me for?' exclaimed Zach, rubbing his hand.

'You freaking KIDNAPPED me!' she yelled back at him, 'did you expect me not to defend myself, or did you think I'd fall at your feet like every other female around here!'

'You weren't doing a good enough job of helping yourself! You forced me to do that!' he shouted back.

Zach had carried her far out of New York, but was forced to stop when she had bitten his hand – hard. So hard that his hand was swollen and had started to bleed. He wasn't sure where they were anymore, except for the fact that they were near water – he could smell it.

'Good job getting us lost,' she commented snidely. He wasn't appreciating the attitude after he had pretty much saved her life, again. But she wasn't having any of that.

'Did you think about what we were going to do about food? Or shelter? Or are you exempt from those basic necessities?' she crossed her arms and glared at him, but it was had been so used to not having to worry about food, water or sleep that he had forgotten that everyone else needed those things.

'I'm sure there's somewhere to stay around here…' he looked at his now healed hand and stood up, surveying their surroundings. They were on a long stretch of road, completely deserted. He could only guess that they had gone north, but there was no way he could be sure. He turned to Alice, who caught his eye and straightened her posture, but she couldn't stop herself from shivering. It was another cold, winter night.

'Does it snow here?' she suddenly asked, knowing she had no clothes to arm her against that sort of weather.

'If it gets cold enough,' he understood what she meant, 'not used to this sort of weather?' Alice shook her head. It never got this cold back in Sydney, and it certainly never snowed.

'Look, you're going to have to trust me… I'll find somewhere to stay for the night,' he walked slowly towards her. She looked at him apprehensively, but nodded ever so slightly.

'Good, now… I suggest you put on whatever jackets you have, and this,' he pulled off his own worn brown jacket and handed it to her. Alice knew better than to reject it so she snatched it off him and pulled it over her own clothing.

'Try not to look in the direction we're traveling – it's going to get a lot colder,' he held out his arms to pick her up, but she stepped back.

'How else do you think we're going to get anywhere?' he demanded. She didn't answer, so he lifted her up and positioned her on his back with ease.

As he began to run, he felt her tense up against the sudden cold and frosty wind, andmoments later she tucked her head in between her arms and his back.

He found an old, run-down motel after twenty minutes of solid sprinting, he didn't want to imagine how long that would have taken had they walked.

Zach slowly peeled Alice off his back; while he was running, he could feel her heartbeat slow down, as if she was sleeping, though as soon as she was on the ground, trying to walk properly again, she was as alert as she was before – though, she did look very worn out.

Alice began to storm up to the motel's office, but Zach caught her arm and dragged her back.

'What are you doing? Get off me!' she fought uselessly against him.

'Zoey is a telepath! We can't go in there looking the way we do! Can you like, morph into someone else?' Zach explained, looking worried.

'Me, morphing? What are you talking about?' she frowned, biting her lip.

'What you did at the club…' he replied.

Alice thought for a moment. She had completely forgotten that she had done that, but she knew how.

'I… I can't…' she looked at him, somewhat apologetically, hoping he wasn't going to ask why. Instead – to her relief – he sighed and told her to go and rent a room.

'Why not two?' she demanded as she slowly started walking.

'What kind of kidnapper would that make me if I left you on your own?' he called out with a grin. He couldn't go with her; people would remember him, though he didn't say that. Zach didn't want her to think he was insulting her.

Alice seemed to understand why he sent her out without him, and walked off to get a room.

They entered the room in silence, and Alice dragged herself over to the only bed and collapsed in a heap, falling into a deep sleep. Zach watched as she twitched, tossed and turned through the night, feeling a little concerned as her expression looked more and more distressed as the night progressed.

* * *

As expected, that morning he received a phone call from Zoey, who told him of Alice's sudden disappearance.

'She called back out to me, and when I came upstairs, the window was open, her room was cleared and she was gone!'

'Yeah, so?'

'Well, someone must've tipped her off… and the only other person who knew was you Zach,' she was angry.

Alice had woken, but was listening to his conversation, trying to lay as still as possible.

'C'mon Zoey, you know I don't like her… as if I'd go near her, as if I'd do something like that to you…' he was pacing around now. There was a brief silence before he spoke again.

'You told me to get away for a while, and I have. I'm at a motel… middle of nowhere, north maybe… yeah…' he stopped walking next to her bed. She could almost feel him looking at her.

'Yes, if I see her around I'll bring her back… okay, yeah… Bye,' he hung up abruptly.

Alice stirred, but stopped herself from saying anything. Zach noticed, and left quickly to get her something to eat from the vending machine in the office.

When he got back she was changed and flicking through the channels on the television, looking distracted. He was surprised she hadn't tried run off.

'Here,' he tossed her a muffin and brought over what looked like hot chocolate, and sat on the sofa furthest from the bed. He watched as she picked at the muffin and ate, taking deep sips from the hot chocolate.

'What do you have planned now?' she asked, warming her hands on the cup, not looking at him.

'We can stay here a little while, but we're going to have to move soon…'

'Move to where?' she questioned, this time looking at Zach who hadn't answered. She didn't know whether or not to be grateful that he was helping because it really didn't seem like he was at all.

'Then take me back!' she demanded, wrapping her muffin up and pushing it to the side.

'I…can't…' he muttered, looking at the television.

'Why not! Zoey was going to get me home!' she glared.

'It's those…people that you want to go back to. I…they… you can't go back there.' He stood up and left for the bathroom, refusing to divulge anymore. Alice sighed loudly and flopped back on her bed.

* * *

'Alright Brett, Tom you guys know what you've got to do?' Zoey wanted to make sure just before she sent them out. She knew she'd never be able to find Alice on her own. Brett and Tom had agreed to help out for a share of the pay; Brett's sadistic nature reflected in his ability to create gashes and lacerations on the bodies of others with his touch, whilst Tom had his super-human speed and strength at his disposal.

She really couldn't think of a better pair.

'I dunno how you think we're gonna find 'er Zoey,' Tom glanced over at the leather clad female sprawled across the sofa.

'That's okay, I've figured that out,' Zoey turned and looked at the door as Markus walked in, red with anger.


	13. Confinement

**13. Confinement.**

For five days she was confined to that room under Zach's watchful eye.  
_No, not watchful…piercing, cold eyes_, she thought to herself in spite, glaring at the back of his head. They had stopped bickering on day three and were now sitting in complete silence, Zach keeping his attention towards the television at all times; and being especially harsh on not letting her out.  
She had noticed that he was acting a lot gloomier than what he normally seemed. The silence wasn't so much awkward, as it was icy, almost dangerous.

This morning he had moved the television to the far corner of the room, furthest from her bed, and used the sofa to corner himself in.

It was all very peculiar.

Alice slid off her un-made bed and began walking around, watching as his shoulder's stiffened every time she passed his corner. She did this every hour until she got hungry and gave up. As if on cue, Zach looked up at the clock, turned and gave Alice a stern look before leaving the room with a swagger.

Alice had to bite her lip to stop herself from gasping. He looked haggard; his eyes had deep purple shadows beneath them, his lips dry and his ice-blue eyes looked much paler. He walked back in, slowly, carefully placing an apple, a bottle of water and bag of chips on the corner of her bed before sulking off to his fort.

She giggled, strangely reminded of her primary school lunches her mother would pack. Zach whipped around and glared at her sudden noise.

He was close to losing control; not having properly fed for almost two weeks – no one else had come to stay at this motel; all he had was the wild animals that had stopped prowling around the area two days ago. His presence had spooked them off.

'Do you want my apple?' she asked, sitting as far away as she could, worried that he'd go berserk.

'No,' he rasped; his throat was dry.

'Water?' she asked, noticing this.

'No.'

'Are you sure? You don't look well…' she said edging closer, but still maintaining her distance.

'You haven't eaten all week,' she commented.

'I don't need to,' he replied through his teeth.

'Sure doesn't look it,' she said, still deciding whether or not to try to force him to eat.

'It's my mutation,' he growled, watching in the reflection of the television screen as Alice recoiled and returned to her side of the room.

'Listen, for both our sake's… stay over there.'

'There's nothing to do,' she sulked. Zach cringed, trying to remind himself that she didn't know the severity of the current situation.

'Count the tiles, then go to sleep.'

Alice sighed and returned to flicking through the Bible that had surprisingly not been stolen by previous occupants.

**xxx**

Zach watched as Alice fell into another restless sleep, wondering what she could be dreaming of to make her look this upset. She wasn't getting any real rest, even in his state he could see it; she was still looking exhausted, possibly more so than when they first arrived.

She began mumbling incoherently just as he was about to leave; something she hadn't done before. He paused to listen, as she turned over with a little more force than necessary.

'Not… true,' she mumbled, looking strained. Zach slowly walked over to her, as she tossed over again.

'Alice?' he asked softly, not wanting to get to close, but she had stopped mumbling and her expression had gone blank. He leaned over, trying to make sure she was still breathing, when her eyes flipped open catching his own.

Without realizing Alice was thrown into Zach's mind; though it wasn't like anyone else's she had raided before. It was displaced; nothing seemed absolute – everything was clouded and floating around. There were no memories hanging up for her to see and no path to guide her around.

But what frightened her most was his lacking of that energy; that life force that would normally lure her deeper into her host's mind. She snapped back, her gasp drowned out by her scream at the pale-eyed man staring right at her with a mixture of both shock and anger.

'What the hell was that about?' he backed away from her quickly, eyes wide open.

'You were practically on top of me!' she stared at him in the same manner.

'I thought you were dead! You were tossing and turning and just stopped!'

Alice wasn't as quick to reply as he thought she would be; instead she seemed to just stop and stare blankly at the wall in front of her.

'Yeah…'

'You've been doing that every night, you know,' he told her, keeping his eyes down low, knowing how he must look right now.

'I don't… sleep well. Though, that was different… Markus was there…' she trailed off.

'What?' Zach rushed up to her and grasped her shoulders, not caring that he was frightening her, 'what did you say about Markus?'

Alice went red, being this close to him… but also at the fact that he was acting stranger now that she had mentioned Markus.

'He… was in my dream,' she replied, trying to look away.

'What was he doing?'

'Excuse me!' her jaw dropped, 'as if that's any of your business!'

'What-was-he-doing?' he hissed, shaking her a little.

'He… we… were… walking,' she whimpered, 'and talking.'

'About what?' he stared at her.

'I don't know, he wanted to know why I had gone… and then I showed him around here… I think,' she snorted. She had left out the questions he had pummeled her with about Zach. It was a stupid dream; she couldn't begin to imagine what could have spurred such a vivid, average conversation like that.

Zach swore loudly.

'What? What is it?' She looked at him as he began pacing around the room, feeling completely confused. 'It was just a dream!'

'Look, I bet Markus told you he was a telepath or something, right?' Zach stopped and crossed his arms, leaning on the wall. Alice couldn't help but notice his muscles tense.

'Yeah…' she didn't know a whole lot about Markus' mutation, having only borrowed enough of his telepathy so they could communicate, but he knew nothing about hers. It seemed like a fair deal.

'Well, if he concentrates long enough, he can project himself into the minds of other people… not just as a voice, but as a whole. I think you just gave him our location. You two were close friends, he must've figured a way in…' he gritted his teeth.

'What? No!' she began panicking, not knowing why. She wanted to be found… right?

'They're probably close…' Zach closed his eyes, concentrating on the area around him. He could feel movement that wasn't normal for this time of the night, or well, morning, but being as starved as he was, he couldn't hone it in.

'How close?' Alice asked, not knowing what else to do.

'Too damn close. Pack up!' he barked at her, heading towards the door. Alice scooped up her backpack and pushed her small amount of belongings into it, and slung it on her back.

Zach flung the door open and ran out onto the empty highway – his vision not as sharp as it could be.

'Zach?' Alice called from the room, stepping out slowly, but he didn't seem to listen. He was peering at something completely invisible to her in the dark horizon.

He didn't see it in time as he was hurtled through the air, landing with a thud on the cold gravel.

'ZACH!' Alice shrieked, running over him. He groaned, rolling away from her.

''ey! She didn' say nothin' about 'im!' a bulky man called out, pointing to Zach who was struggling to stand up; he wasn't healing like he should be.

'Doesn't matter, just grab her!'

Thick, studded boots found themselves in Zach's view; right up next to his face.

'Hello Zach,' a pierced face bobbed in his vision as Brett crouched down.

'What are you doing here with that Sheila? I don't think Zoey will be too keen to hear about this,' he kicked him hard in the stomach, making Zach gasp out in pain. Somewhere close, Alice screamed loudly.

'Aahh… I think Tom's got her.'

'Zach!' she cried out as Tom dragged her over by her hair, 'please! Zach!'

He staggered up, wincing in pain. He could have killed them quite easily, but he wouldn' couldn't let Saskia down any more than he would have already.

'Look Zacharias, I'm sure you know what we can do… don't try anything stupid, or else,' Brett placed his finger on Alice's cheek.

'No!' Zach yelled, watching as Alice tried to squirm away from his touch, but he stopped moving forward.

'That's a good boy,' Brett smiled, patting Alice on her head.

'Right…' he began, turning to face Zach, only to be met with a hard fist at his jaw.

'Fu--,' Zach bit, trying not to swear, holding his fist close to his chest. That had really hurt. Tom let go of Alice, dropping her to the ground, and ran over to Zach, faster than what Zach could muster himself. Alice backed away as the two grappled, trying to find somewhere she could hide.

Brett woke, with Alice in plain view. His jaw was swollen, and he could taste blood, but she was close. Cringing, he crawled up behind her as she watched the brawl and grabbed hold of her shoulders.

'Gotcha,' he hissed, running his finger down her back.

Alice's scream of agony surprised both Tom and Zach, who stopped and watch as Brett traced a line down Alice's back; blood flowing steadily out of the long wound. Zach stalked over, anger seething within him in a fury. He towered over Brett, who was busy watching his work, licking his lips and breathing heavily.

'Hey.'

Brett looked up, and collapsed, dead.

Alice's breathing increased as the pain flamed through her body, she bit down hard on her lip, making that too, bleed.

'Alice! Can you hear me?' Zach looked at her, feeling a little more refreshed now that he had fed. She was lying on her side, having a hard time to keep focus.

'Can…he… heal?' she whispered, tasting blood in her mouth, looking over at Tom, who stood frozen, not knowing what to do. Zach nodded, knowing how fast Tom had healed from blows, silently thanking Saskia's pickiness when it came to hiring long-term mutants.

'Bring him over…' she breathed out.

Zach dragged the stunned Tom over and pushed him down. Alice locked her eyes with his, and prayed she would reach his powers before blacking out.

* * *

**A/N:** Chapter 13 uploaded on the 13th! Ahh, yes. Sorry this one is late... But study got in the way, unfortunately.  
I will update again on Sunday, so all will be well!

Sigh, I enjoyed writing Brett's powers, however brief they were.. Maybe I'll write a prequel? Whooo knows.


	14. Guilt

**14. Guilt.**

She sat huddled on her bed, not sure where Zach had carried her this time. She was too afraid to look at her back; not wanting to see what was left behind. Alice hadn't copied enough of Tom's healing factor to heal herself completely, leaving her to deal with a raw gash and blood stained sheets.

Zach hadn't shown up in her dark room since she had woken; she wasn't even sure that he was nearby – or what had happened to those two men.

She drew her knees to her chest, trying to understand what was happening around her; Markus had come to her in a dream – but was really there telepathically. He was angry and accused her of sneaking off with Zach, and wouldn't relent when she told him it wasn't true. Had Zoey recruited him, like Tom and Brett, to help capture her? It was the most reasonable and most saddening conclusion she could come up with.

But maybe Zach was right.  
Maybe the people Alice wanted to return to were as ruthless and vile as he described them as – especially if they had people look for her like she was a criminal.  
Unless, of course, she was one.

**x**

Zach sat on the cold tiles of the kitchen, leaning against the cabinets, his head resting on his arms. He had taken them as far from the motel as possible, to a now vacant home. He had left Tom to deal with the now dead Brett, knowing that if either Zoey or Tom said anything to Saskia, they would be the ones in trouble.  
Though, it seemed unlikely that they'd take any abuse from her lightly. He wished that he could've drawn out Brett's death; made it long and painful, but that sick bastard probably would have enjoyed it.

The family that was forced to flee when they arrived had a daughter that was studying to be a nurse; she was walking down the stairs.

She – Kathleen - stood behind a wall, trembling; not wanting to go in and face that monster that was holding her captive.

'She's…she's awake,' she peeped, knowing that he could hear her no matter how low she whispered. She heard his sigh as he got up and walked over to her.

'Is she… okay?' he asked.

Kathleen nodded, but squeaked as he pushed past her and dragged his feet up the stairs.

'What is it?' he paused, his shoulders sagging.

'I don't think… you should… go up there… she's brittle,' she stuttered. Zach turned and looked at her sadly. The girl was probably right; he had gotten her into this situation – if he hadn't, she wouldn't have been wounded, nor would she have people hunting her down like this. This was so typical of him; no matter how much he would try to help anyone, someone would end up worse off than before.

Kathleen watched, feeling a profound sadness emanating from him, as Zach dragged himself back into the kitchen, and sunk back down onto the floor. She walked up the stairs, trying not to look at the family photos hanging on the wall, praying that they were all safe, and returned to the room she had just left.

The girl was sitting on her now blood-stained bed, wrapped up in the blankets, looking through her photo albums.

'Hey…' Kathleen cautiously approached her, 'how's your back?'

Alice looked up and shut the folder quickly, pushing it away from her, and stared at the young woman that had just walked in, ready to spring into action despite her back still being sore. Noticing this, Kathleen stopped moving and tried to smile as kindly as possible.

'I…I helped clean up your wound…'

Alice shuddered, but muttered a thank you.

'Can I see if it's healed?'

'As long as I don't have to see it,' Alice muttered, her accent surprising Kathleen.

'Where are you from?' she asked as Alice turned and rolled up her top.

'Australia,' she replied, feeling uncomfortable as the girl peeled off the bandages, 'how's it looking?'

'It's still a little red, but it's healed…' she replied. Kathleen knew that they were mutants when the boy had barged in that night, ordering the family to pack up and leave. Kathleen had seen the injured girl unconscious in his arms – and all the blood on both his shirt and hers, and offered to help if he didn't hurt her family. Her parents weren't happy at all, but understood their daughter's yearning to help people; they had scooped up her two younger siblings and drove off – probably to the police.

She had accepted that her accelerated healing was her mutation.

'Though, there will probably be a scar…' Kathleen told her with dismay, feeling sorry for the girl who now had to carry the wound around for the rest of her life – especially once this long and grotesque. It was as though someone had sliced right through her back, the way one would cut through butter.

Alice turned around, rolling her shirt down quickly to hide the wound and smiled at the girl. She had long, light red hair and caring brown eyes that made Alice smile.

'Thanks again,' she smiled, feeling a little cheered up that she was taking care of her, rather than Zach, 'are you alright?' Alice asked with concern, hoping that looking at her wound hadn't scared her. Kathleen blinked hard and appeared to recover, placing her hand on her head.

'Excuse me.' Kathleen hopped off the bed and walked briskly to the bathroom down the hall.

_Do this, and I'll leave you alone._

'Who said that?' Kathleen whispered, leaning on the sink and looking at her reflection.

She had heard a voice talking when she was in the room with that girl, but she didn't seem to hear it.

_Listen carefully. I am a mutant and I am communicating to you telepathically; and it isn't the only thing I can do. So you better do what I ask, or I'll hunt you down, and then your family._

'No!' she gasped as the voice laughed. It was female, but it wasn't caring; it was hollow and angry. 'I'll do what you say…'  
The voice laughed as it relayed its instructions.

Alice was walking around the bedroom, looking at each trinket on the tables and shelves carefully – amused by the collection of little kitten statues.

'Alice?' She whipped around, groaning as her back flamed up in pain.

'How did you know my name?' Alice asked, embarrassed that she didn't know hers.

'Your friend downstairs told me,' she replied, looking at the collection.

'Oh,' Alice replied. So he was around. He just didn't want to see her.

'He seems really upset though,' Kathleen slipped, groaning as her head began to ache.

'Yeah… right,' Alice muttered, turning her attention to the photo of her family on the desk.

_Do it!_ The voice demanded ferociously. Kathleen watched as Alice focused her attention to the clutter of books on her desk as she reached quietly for her shelf; her grasp lying on a large, cold terracotta cat.

'I'm sorry,' she whispered through tears, holding the cat up over her head.

'Huh?' Alice turned around, staring wide-eyed at the girl who was about to pummel her head in.

_Don't look at her in her eyes_, the voice ordered, Kathleen immediately focusing her eyes down.

'What are you doing?' Alice backed away slowly, her eyes flicking over to the door – on the other side of the room. She opened her mouth, ready to call out for help, when the girl jumped forward, flailing the cat wilding.

'It's not me!' Kathleen cried, as she flung the object, just missing Alice, who tumbled over the bed and landed on her back on the wooden floor with a loud, painful moan.

Zach heard the thud and bolted upright, only just catching the pained cry that came from Alice's room. He rushed up the stairs and barged into the room, pouncing on Kathleen, ready to break her neck.

'Zach! No!' Alice cried, pushing herself up rushing over to Zach, trying to pry his arms off the girl.

'Give me one good reason,' he hissed, staring at the bawling girl.

'It wasn't her! I think… I think Zoey…' Alice stuttered, looking sadly at the girl.

'Impossible. She'd have to be nearby… or at least seen her to have done this,' Zach glared, not releasing his hold on her neck.

'My…parents,' she rasped, '…police…'

'And Tom… she would know by now,' Alice tried to reason with him.

'Damn it!' he swore loudly, letting go of Kathleen and watching her scamper over to her bed. He got up off the floor and stood with his arms crossed, his eyes flicking over both girls. Alice wasn't looking any better, and seeing her like this hurt him more.

'We're leaving,' he declared and stormed out of the room.

'What?' Alice called out, 'again?' Though, it was no use. He wasn't listening.

'Pack up whatever you have left,' he boomed from the hall.

Kathleen looked over at Alice, grateful that she had just saved her life and walked over to her wardrobe, pulling out a pair of faded blue jeans and a thick blue and black turtle-neck, and offered it to Alice. She took them as well as a separate set of clothes, quickly changing and walked out after Zach.

**xxx**

Zach watched from the far side of the room as Alice bit her lip and kept looking towards the doors and windows for any sign of movement. Being near him didn't make her feel protected; it made her fear every moment for something she knew would eventually catch up to her.

'Why would you think to help someone like me?' she asked abruptly, shifting her weight on the uncomfortable motel bed. The question had been burning in her mind since they were attacked, and the way he had reacted when Kathleen was about to attack her made her wonder more.

'I don't know. I figure that since I knocked you out that window, I should at least try to redeem myself.'

'You don't seem to be the type who regrets what he does,' Alice pointed out. His eyes quickly betraying his neutral expression.

'I mean, we're… well, I'm running from your girlfriend,' she looked down at her hands, half hoping to hear him claim that the girl chasing Alice really wasn't his girlfriend anymore, that he had lost that allegiance with her.

'Yeah, I don't know what's gotten into her. Her attention doesn't usually span this long,' he said, knowing that it was probably jealousy driving her now. Zoey knew Alice was different to the other girls that Zach used to see, and she didn't like that.

'Oh.' Alice slid off the bed and wandered into the bathroom, taking a towel and a new set of clothes.

Zach watched as Alice left, fiddling with his lip – a habit he was picking up from her. He really didn't know why he was helping her out, especially since he knew what she did, what she was capable of. Why she was being chased.

It didn't seem like it was her fault really, but running away was something he was exceedingly good at, and it was the best thing he could think of doing.

He heard the shower start, making the heater outside groan. They couldn't stay anywhere fancy; Zoey would find them straight away. Cheap motels and abandoned homes were their best options.

Of course, Alice didn't know they had the choice between these sleazy, dirty locations and the ritzy apartments that he owned. He didn't really want her to know either.

As soon as the hot water hit her back, she felt as if she was melting away. She welcomed the familiar warmth as it poured over her tired body. It was hopeless. She was being dragged from something she didn't remember by someone she didn't really know. And no matter how hard she tried, nothing was coming back to her; she wasn't even sure if she had actually managed to escape.

Maybe all of that was in her mind, the escape; everything – her imagination trying to shield her from some atrocious thing she may have done. This possibility wasn't new, though. She had thought up so many things that could have happened that she was now losing sleep over worry.

She sniffed loudly.

He heard her, and was surprised.  
Zach had always assumed her placid temperament as hardness, formed from what she had done – but hearing her cry, that was something different.

He walked over to the door and knocked, the shower stopping immediately after.

'Are you alright?' he asked through the wood.

Quickly finishing up, Alice stepped out of her shower and wiped at the fogged mirror with her towel. She turned at took a look at the scar that ran from her right shoulder blade to the bottom left corner of her back. It was long, clean and ugly. She felt tears well up again as she looked at her disfigured body, feeling even more disgusted with herself.

Moments later the door swung open, and Alice walked out in a pair of black jeans and a sloppy grey sweater that clung to her slightly wet arms.

She walked past him, and left the small motel room, leaving wet footprints on the grey carpet, wanting to be left alone from the person who seemed to only bring her grief and pain.

Zach was stupid.  
And she was stupid for letting him take her away.  
Maybe she should just face Zoey, and then maybe she'd find out what happened.

Alice walked out to the parking lot, heading for the exit. She didn't know where she'd walk, but she couldn't keep running anymore. She needed to face…whatever she was being hunted down for.

A car blew its horn as it raced past her, swerving into an empty space, Alice jumped back, letting out a small shout. She crumpled on the floor, eyes stinging once again. It seemed that every force was against her. She couldn't make it on her own; she didn't know how to deal with being alone when she had all this on her back.

Zach walked up behind her, silently, observing her body which jerked up and down with every quiet sob. This was a new girl in front of him. She didn't seem real, because though she was tentative, Alice never seemed this weak, nor this exposed.

He stood awkwardly, not knowing really, how to console a crying girl in the middle of a parking lot. She didn't know he was there, so he could just leave.

But she looked so vulnerable.

Alice watched a stone tumble past her, and turned to see Zach; who looked so completely and utterly forlorn, that it tore her heart apart.

Zach didn't know how to apologise and mean it, because, who could really apologise for putting someone through all of this torment.

'I… I don't think a simple sorry can make up for all of this,' he whispered, not taking his sad gaze off her hazel eyes, red from tears, 'but… if I could go back, I'd make sure I never gave in and came to you room.'

She bit her lip, feeling tears fall again, and looked away. The way he was acting towards her now was so different from the egotistical, silent and detached image he had given her; she didn't want to believe that there was a side like this to him. It made the situation real, to see that he actually intended to help her – that there really were people out there that were after her, further than Zoey.

She wanted him to stay a cold, unfeeling monster, because, you can't feel anything for something that's lost its humanity.

* * *

**A/N:** Holy cow, that was a long chapter! I hope you guys managed to read it all, cos that last bit is one of my favourite scenes!


	15. Caught Up

**15. Caught up.**

He had let her walk back to the room, feeling too awkward to accompany her.

The hours that followed his confession and her emotional outburst were silent; but not that deadly silence that they had experienced some days ago, but a deeper silence. None of them said anything in fear of what would come from their mouth. Each spent every second carefully crafting and calculating their thoughts, before giving up and not saying anything at all.

Every movement each other made caused the other to cast a quick glance over, just to see if they were alright.

They were behaving like children, and they both knew it… but didn't know how else. With each too embarrassed to communicate properly, they kept themselves apart.

'I'm uh… just going to sit outside…' Alice spoke softly.

'Here, take my jacket,' Zach shrugged it off and passed it to her, staring at her a little too long as she took hold of it, eyes downcast. He let go and watched as she pulled it on and walked outside, closing the door behind her.

Alice drew her legs up onto the bench that was just outside the door and looked out into the darkness. It seemed like they were closer to a city, or a town at least, that was close to water. She closed her eyes and tried to imagine sea-gulls flying overhead, reminding her of when she would hang out with her friends in the city at nights. Alice wanted to go back, but it wasn't the same longing it was when she was back in New York.

She wanted to go back, but just for answers. She couldn't really see herself living there anymore, not after experiencing all that she had here. She couldn't imagine who else she would stay with either, feeling as though her parents wouldn't be as warm to her as usual. She'd be treated as a guest, nothing more than that.

She bit her lip, regretting how she had acted around Zach earlier. He probably thought she was an emotional wreck. Though, she was baffled as to why she cared. Would she had cared when she was younger and still lived in Australia?

Alice really couldn't really remember how she acted back then, except that she was meek. Living the way she did now brought out a new side in her, a side that pushed her to do something about her situation, rather than watch the world go by.

'Are you alright sweetie?' someone asked, walking over to her from the parking lot. Alice ignored her and rose from her seat.

'Don't.' Something invisible rose in front of her, stopping her from reaching the door. Alice turned around slowly, not wanting her suspicions to be true.

'It took quite a lot of effort looking for you,' she whispered, her blonde hair long and curly, but void of any colours, her eyes full of fury.

'Please Zoey…' Alice began, trying to get a grip on the door.

'I know he's in there, so you're coming with me,' she hissed, raising her arm towards Alice who, in turn rose into the air along with Zoey. Alice screamed out loud, hoping that Zach would come out in time to see her being dragged into the night with Zoey.

**x**

Where was he?

Why hadn't he come?

Zoey had bound her hands and covered her eyes; she had been clever enough to figure out Alice's mutation. She was sitting in complete darkness, and by the way her voice echoed; in a large, empty building or warehouse that seemed right at the water's edge.

'So, what, you're gonna beat me up whilst I'm tied up and blindfolded?' Alice scoffed, her voice repeating itself as it bounced off the walls.

'Shut up.' Alice felt something miss the side of her head, knocking the chair she was tied to over. She landed on her back with a cringed, but refused to cry out.

Zoey kicked her over and untied her arms and legs, letting Alice claw the material from her eyes.

She opened them, realizing she had guessed correctly – they were in a large, empty warehouse.

Alice looked at Zoey, who was staring at her hatefully only a few meters away. She stood up slowly, rubbing her wrists from the impression the tight ropes left on her.

'So, what are you going to do now? Wait for Zach?' Zoey spat, taking a step closer towards Alice. She grew agitated when Alice refused to reply.

'He'll come around soon no doubt, but it'll be too late,' she grinned, directing crates with her arms. One flew towards Alice, who dodged it just in time, landing with a thud on the concrete floor. Another appeared in front of her just as she stood up, hitting her arm just as she jumped out of the way.

Alice ran and hid behind a larger crate, catching her breath and her arm and back throbbing. She _was_ waiting for Zach because she couldn't fight for herself.

No one let her fight for herself.

She glanced over at the demolished crate next to her and picked up a large wooden plank, standing to face Zoey.

* * *

Zach raced around the small town, trying to grasp on Alice's scent, but his senses were clouded by the heavy smell of the salty sea water that sat on the town's edge.

To his left, someone came tearing, screaming at the top of his lungs, from the docks – bleeding profusely from his head.

Zach rushed up to him and grabbed the man by the collar.

'What did you see?' he barked, the man pointed towards the warehouses.

'Mutants.' Zach dropped him and ran over.

* * *

'Alice, you can't be serious can you?' Zoey levitated Alice in the air, carefully maneuvering her so she couldn't get a glimpse into her eyes.

'Stopping me with a plank of wood…' she laughed as she tore the wood from Alice's fingers. Alice watched as it dropped to the floor, not wanting to do the same. This wasn't the first time she had dealt with a telekinetic with superiority issues, though.

Alice glanced towards the large doors in an exaggerated manner, knowing she'd get Zoey's attention. Zoey looked towards the doors and sniggered.

'Did you really think he'd come to help you? He knows you're weak and he knows what you've done!' she laughed, bringing Alice closer to her.

'He's been helping me all this time,' Alice whispered, biting her lip.

'And now I see why!' she clapped her hands together, 'Zach! If you're out there, come out and take a look at the present you gave me!'

Zach heard Zoey's booming voice, amplified by the echo created by the warehouse walls. He ran over and pushed open the large doors, gasping as both girls were levitating high up in the air. Zoey smirked and dropped her hold on Alice, watching as she fell towards the pile of broken crates.

Zach ran over and caught her just in time, tumbling over the debris scattered all over the ground. He helped Alice up and faced Zoey, raising his own hands, readying himself for an attack.

'I heard what you did to Brett,' Zoey lowered herself slightly; 'you look at him and he drops dead! Now, I wish you had told me you could do that earlier!' she looked over at Alice who was standing behind him.

'She won't fight! I knew it!' Zoey faked a yawn.

'We're leaving!' Zach yelled out, placing his hand on Alice's shoulder and turning her.

'I can't believe it! You really are helping her… even after you read what she had done!' Zoey glowered.

'What?' Alice shrugged him off her shoulder, looking at him questioningly. Zoey caught this and tutted.

'Didn't you tell her Zachy? Tsk tsk…' Zoey lowered herself, and began walking towards Alice, who had backed away from Zach in confusion, 'I guess I'll tell her.'

Zoey stopped a foot away from Alice and smirked.

'You killed people,' she shrugged, smiling apologetically, 'a lot of people. How many were there Zach? I'm sure you'd remember.' She looked over her shoulder at Zach who was trying to look Alice in the eye.

'Hmm, well according to your assignment records, there were at least fifty people. I wouldn't trust that, though. Apparently, you were messy.' Zoey caught Alice's chin as she gasped. Alice flicked her eyes towards Zach, searching his for some sort of explanation. There was _no_ way she could have killed so many people. But he was faltering.

'You… you knew?' Alice whispered, growing angry. Zach bit his lip – what could he tell her.

'I… I didn't think you could…'

'Didn't think I could handle it?' she yelled, seething, 'you've been dragging me around knowing what I've done, what… horrible things I've done, and you thought I'd be better off not knowing?' Alice stepped forward, kicking wood out of her way furiously.

'Does anyone think I can do anything for myself?' she shouted, watching as Zoey clapped her hands gleefully. Alice rushed up to her, only to be pushed aside with ease as Zoey flicked her hand. She landed against the wall of the warehouse with a thump, her body slumping.

'So, Zach… was it really worth it?' Zoey turned towards him, walking over slowly, raising her arms from her sides as if she were conjuring something. 'Now, I know you heal fast… but, I've been wondering, _how_ fast.'

She released her grip on the invisible structure she had created, and watched, waiting to see him crushed.

Zach closed his eyes and raised his hands before him, and through his eyelids he could see the telekinetic force rushing through the air before him. He caught the blade-like structure at its end, and ran towards Zoey, swinging it at her.

She went hurtling through the air, landing a few meters from Alice. Zach staggered, not realizing he could handle that amount of energy with such ease.

He looked towards where Alice had been knocked out, but she was gone.

'Hey Zoey,' Alice whispered, crawling on top of her. Zoey was trying desperately not to look in her eyes, but Alice force her eyelids open. As long as she wasn't unconscious, she could still copy her powers.

'Do you really want to see what I can do?' And within that instant, she dove into Zoey's mind, finding her powers straight away. She was careful to only copy her mutation, leaving her with enough energy to witness what she was about to do; and quickly returned to her own body.

Zoey had more power than Alice had estimated, but as if she were trained specifically for a task like this, she mastered it fairly easily, watching as both Zoey and Zach gasped as she rose through the air in a large telekinetic bubble.

'I'll show them what happens when they think they can walk all over me,' she boomed, letting the power take control of her body. All around her, the building began to shake, with beams from the roof bending towards her bubble.

Zach watched in amazement, having never seen this side of Alice before. Did she… steal Zoey's mutation? Alice began to drift slowly towards the doors, the building bending from above the sphere – she was heading towards the water, and was gathering speed. Zach ran out, following Alice, and onto the pier, stopping at the end and waiting for her to pass.

As she did, he jumped up into the air, preparing for a nose dive, raising his hands above his head towards the orb, shattering a small section as he pierced through, and floated off over the water with her.

* * *

**A/N: **Yeah, I'm not totally in love with this chapter... In hindsight, I could have been a lot more creative with Zoey's mutation, but I can't do anything about it now.  
The little thing about dealing with telekinetics with superiority issues is a reference to a scene in _The Key_.  
Anyway, I hope you guys aren't too disappointed in this chapter..


	16. Delirium

**16. Delirium.**

Floating.  
Drifting.  
For a while all that surrounded them was water, only once passing over a cluster of islands – but never stopping. The directions she chose to move in seemed completely random, but she was focused.  
Alice appeared catatonic – concentrating only on traveling, not even the slightest bit aware that Zach was there with her.

For the first three days it was alright; they were flying at a reasonable speed, and it was generally cool and overcast. Zach wasn't hungry from his lack of movement, and Alice didn't seem cold. Zach knew though, that outside their safety it would be freezing, windy and hopeless.

But it was during the fourth day when they moved into direct view of the sun, and it grew hotter all around them; though the bubble kept out some of the heat, it wasn't enough.

It was midday when Alice's concentration began to falter, where they bobbed close to the water, and then shot back up into the sky as she refocused.

Zach watched carefully as Alice's body slumped slightly, her head bobbing around; but didn't dare to try and move from his spot.

Alice let out a soft moan, and turned slightly.

'No!' he yelled out as she closed her eyes, letting the bubble drop several meters.

Above him, cracks started appearing as whole segments simply disappeared. Closing his eyes, he tried to cling onto whatever remained, but it was to no avail. He wasn't able to create this sort of energy, just manipulate it while it existed, fully formed around him.

He quickly grasped onto Alice as they both dropped into the ocean.

Zach clung onto Alice as he swam through the freezing water, not taking notice to its temperature, but knew Alice would. She was still unconscious, but it wouldn't be long before she would freeze to death, so he swam – through the cold night, and into the blistering heat of the next day; feeding off the curious fish, and occasional shark that swam too close.

Though, like the wildlife on land, the sea-creatures learnt soon enough that there was something wrong with the strange creature swimming through their world – even if it was carrying potential food along.

He swam faster, not sure if it was out of pure delirium that he could actually find land, or that looking back at the unconscious girl with the pasty skin and cracked lips pushed him along.

Not only was it hot, but it was muggy – his first real indication that they had passed, or were getting close to the equator. This meant that if it was winter in America, it would be summer here, in the south.

Zach pushed himself, swimming knowing that the heat would disappear once night would come, but the water was deep, and the currents pushed and pulled them in their own directions.

After hours of drifting the sky lit up with lightening and the clouds cracked loudly, Alice rolled her head around, trying to open her burnt eyelids, but fatigue and hunger won and she lost consciousness again.

The currents were getting stronger, pulling them around as the waves built up in height, threatening his grip on Alice.

It took all of his strength, and all of his energy to hold onto Alice as the waves battered against them, pushing them deeper under the water every time they crashed overhead.

The sky lit up once more, this time with rain beating down on them, but didn't disappear – there was a spot of light left floating in the darkness around them. It was faint, but he could see it.

'HEY!' he yelled, choking on the salty water, waving his free arm around. He called out again, knowing that they probably couldn't hear him, and decided to try and drag both him and Alice over.

In the long, arduous minutes it took him to lug two heavy, water soaked bodies through the raging waters, drained of energy and strength, it was the most human he had felt for four years. The epiphany was almost lost, if not for the fact that the freezing water had helped make it a little more bearable.

Zach called out again, reaching what seemed to be a medium sized boat, hitting the side with his fist.

He reached up and clung to a piece of metal that stuck out from the body, yelling out for help, but it was now only a whisper.

He felt warm hands gripping onto his arms.

He felt the water leaving him behind.

He felt Alice being torn from his weak grasp.

* * *

**A/N:** Sorry I didn't get this out on time! I will be going back to updating _Predator and Prey_ once a week now, sorry if... that's... bad...news for some.  
Heh. Heh. Heh.  
Anyway, we're heading into part two! I'm debating whether or not to keep it in one story, or to make a new one... hmmm.


	17. Epilogue

**17. Epilogue**

They watched, scared out of their minds as he tore through each room, calling out a strange, foreign word; trying desperately to communicate with them. They backed away as he grew frustrated and frenzied, screaming and clutching his head.

He stood, breathing heavily keeping his white eyes peeled open, in the middle of the sleeping space with the cots and sleeping bags thrown around.

''ey mate…' a blonde stranger slowly walked out from the whimpering crowd.

He glanced at the rabid, dark-haired teen, who, though he was looking around, kept his eyes low – refusing to look anyone in the eye.

'…you need to calm down,' he took another step towards the drenched snarling boy, who took a quick step back.

'Alice,' he hissed through his teeth, 'where is she?'

He was suddenly reminded of the half-dead girl they dragged on the boat with this kid. Though, he was looking at least ten times worse.

'She's resting…' he answered, 'you can see her when she wakes up, okay mate?'

The boy seemed calmed by his words and nodded, still looking around wildly.

'I need…somewhere cold,' he muttered, looking somewhat ashamed.

* * *

**A/N:** AHH! Sorry this took so so so long!  
Woo, end of part 1!


	18. On The Water

**PART TWO.**  
Welcome back! I really enjoyed writing part two, and I hope it shows!  
More OC's and practically zero canons – you know who they belong to.

**18. On the water.**

She woke up to the strong smell of salt, feeling stiff and weak. The thin blankets on her body rubbed against her raw skin, warming her unnecessarily. It was excessively muggy, making it hard for her to breathe.

Slowly she opened her eyes, adjusting to the rays of light that poked in through the window and onto her face, illuminating the world for a few moments.

She stood off the bed, her legs feeling like jelly and realised that this small, cramped room was rocking slightly, reminding her of one of the few times she had been on a ferry with her family. Alice squeezed past a chair with some clothing on it, and looked out the window.

It was a bright, sunny day – the sort of weather she hadn't seen while she was in New York; and she was on water.

The previous events hit her as she remembered what happened with a gasp. She had copied Zoey's powers… and flown off towards the ocean. From that point… she was only focused on getting back to Australia to find out first hand what happened in those two years, flying according to a vague map of the world she had remembered from high-school.

But, on top of that, was the one thought she couldn't shake from her mind from the moment she awoke – Zoey telling her _why_ she was being chased – the missions she was sent on, the people that she had killed; and Zach who confirmed it.

Alice was suddenly filled with an impossible amount of anger towards him. How dare he keep that sort of information from her? Forcing her to follow him, whilst knowing what she had done. It didn't matter anymore that Zach had tried to help her, tried to keep her safe – she wasn't a child, she was more then capable with dealing with anything.  
Right?  
Alice picked up the clothing; a short khaki skirt, a plain black tee and a pair of flip-flops that were hidden under the chair, and got changed, glad to be out of her stiff and salty clothing.

She walked cautiously out of the small room and into a cramped hallway that led in one direction; towards a door she only noticed by the small beam of light coming from under it.  
The door slid open to a hall packed with people of all different ethnicities sitting on the floor, eating what seemed to be a broth. She walked in, aware that everyone was looking at her, and made her way towards the kitchen, where there seemed to be a line for food.

As she waited in the line, she strained her ears, trying to hear for any words spoken in English, but there was so much chatter going on, she couldn't hear it even if there was any.

Armed with a bowl and spoon, she walked into the kitchen, surprised by the man who was spooning out the white broth. With his cropped blonde hair flopping over his eyes, as he ladled the food into the bowls, smiling pleasantly to everyone that came to him.

'Ahh, the new girl,' he grinned as Alice stepped forward, trying not to blush, but relieved that he spoke English.

'Yeah…' she replied, watching as he poured the liquid into her bowl.

'Oh, you speak English!' he smiled broadly, 'that's a relief. Thought I was gonna go nuts here.'

'You're Australian, aren't you?' Alice picked up on his accent, though, with a little difficulty.

'Yeah, from Perth,' he prepared his own food, noticing that there was no one after her.

'Sydney,' she mumbled, eating quickly. It was watery, but she was so starved it didn't matter.

'Chris Fletcher,' he wiped his hand on a towel and held it out to her.

'Alice Kaey,' she said, swallowing her food, and shook his hand.

'Uh,' she started between mouthfuls.

'Yeah?' he replied, realizing that he had been looking at her for a little too long.

'How did I… get onto this boat?' she asked sheepishly.

'Oh, that's right… you were outta it when we dragged you two on board,' Chris chuckled, getting ready to tell the story.

'There… were two of us?' she interrupted, placing her spoon in her now empty bowl. As far as she remembered, she was on her own – she had left that traitor back with Zoey.

'Yeah, this guy who looked like he had just crawled outta a grave was keeping you afloat. Went skitzo on the folk here before running into the freezer,' he watched as she catapulted out of her chair, and rushed over to the large, metal door on the far side of the kitchen.

'Zach's here?' she bit her lip. She needed to see him, to confirm to herself that she had a right to be completely angry at him – for the fact alone that he dragged her across America without telling her why she was being chased.

'If, by Zach, you mean that ghoul that won't leave that room? Yeah. It's kinda spooky having him in there while you're trying to cook, man. I mean, we have mutants in here… but none like him,' Chris leaned on the door.

Alice tried to yank the door open, but Chris held it shut.

'Didn't you hear me? He went nuts on everyone here. Don't think I'm gonna let you walk into a deathtrap like that!'

'Yeah, but… I know him… he wouldn't hurt anyone… please,' she looked at him, her eyes pleading for closure on the way she felt. Chris sighed and slackened his weight off the door, letting Alice walk into the cold.

* * *

**A/N:** Woo! Part two! How exciting XD  
AND, a massive thanks to Certh for the input and pointing out a very silly spelling mistake! Whoops!


	19. Hunger

**19. Hunger.**

The room was cold and it was smaller than it appeared from the kitchen, but she welcomed the change from the stifling heat outside. As she stepped through, she noticed that one of the metal shelves had been moved from the wall, and squeezing behind, she found Zach, who sat huddled, with his face in his knees in the corner.

'Zach?' she whispered, all those intense feelings of hatred she felt only a moment ago, quickly being replaced with tentative pity.

She crouched down in front of him and touched his arm, pulling her hand back quickly from the feel of his cold, hard skin. Though, to her relief, he let out a sigh at her touch.

'I'm sorry…' he muttered without moving.

'Zach, please… look up,' she said, not ready to forgive him just yet, but he shook his head.

'Can I… can I get anything for you?' she looked around, but all the food stored in here was untouched. Zach sighed, and raised his head, knowing what she would probably be frightened away eventually. She wasn't sure why she suddenly wanted to help him, though the fact that he kept her afloat for however long they were out in the water kept playing on her mind. Though, nonetheless, she wasn't too happy with herself with asking.

Alice gasped and fell back as Zach looked up; his skin was pasty, blue and drawn, the purple that always seemed to linger under his eyes were darker and heavier, but the most shocking of all was his eyes.

They were completely white.

'It's my mutation, I need… to… feed,' he rasped, not wanting to explain any further, 'but not… your sort of food.'

Alice stared at him, not knowing what else he could possibly mean.

'But, I can't… not here, anyway…'

'Then, where?' Alice asked.

'Well… whenever we reach wherever we're going… or… well,' he paused, looking at Alice with a little hope, 'I could… try tonight… but I'll need your help.'

Alice looked at her hands, but nodded – only just.

'Can you make sure no one comes near the kitchen or above deck when night falls?'

'Why?' she asked, biting her lip, trying to imagine how she'd manage that.

'I'll… explain when I get back.' He returned his head back into his knees, not wanting to tempt himself to feed off her. Alice stood and looked at him questioningly. She wasn't sure if she really would get an answer, but if he had saved her life by risking his own to get her to safety, then she would have help him, regardless of that strong urge to dump him overboard.

Alice slid open the freezer door and stepped outside, sneezing from the change of humidity.

'Bless you,' Chris greeted, placing the kitchen knife he was holding back on the bench, 'sorry, it was just in case, ya know,' he shrugged.

Alice bit her lip. 'I uh… sorta need a favour…'

**x**

That night, after everyone had been fed, Chris and Alice rounded up as many of the travelers and crew and brought them inside. Chris had assured her that they would all be hidden away from Zach if he was stupid enough to do anything.

'The captain has to stay upstairs, but I told him not to do anything if he sees anything suss, unless he goes psycho and tries to kill someone.'

They finished rounding everyone up, keeping them hidden inside the spare rooms and down the hallway with Alice standing up against the concealed door, trying to hear for any sign of movement.

As they stood, waiting for any sign that they could move, they heard the freezer door slam open, followed by heavy, clumsy footsteps as Zach ran upstairs and onto the deck.

There was a long silence before they heard movement once again – more running and a loud splash.

**x**

'Do you know where he is?' Alice asked, resting on a spare sleeping-bag, as Chris returned from having spoken to the captain.

'He asked where the neatest island was, asked him to move in that direction and then jumped overboard.'

'So…what's going to happen?'

Chris sighed. 'We aren't going to wait long, and we can't veer off our route without getting caught, he told your friend that we'll stay where we are until morning.'

He walked over to the kitchen; a place he could depend on when his mind was in turmoil.

As he rested on one of the benches, he watched as Alice walked over, clutching her arms, looking timid.

'I'm… sorry about all this,' she glanced over at Chris.

'Don't worry… you guys were lucky you found us when you did.'

'So, uh… where's this boat going?' she asked, leaning lightly on a counter, though she had only been awake for a day, she still had no idea where they were being taken.

'We're headed to Cape Flattery, Queensland,' he replied, chuckling at her perplexed expression.

'Its north of Townsville. There's a sort of… mutant refuge there, that's where these guys are headed,' he tilted his head out towards the sleeping bodies in the room next door.

'Does that mean you're a…' Alice started to ask nervously.

'Naah, my sisters are, but not me.'

'Why do you do it?' she asked, 'I mean… bringing them to Australia, after… what's gone on.'

'Yeah, well, after what happened with some school m' parents sent my sisters to; we thought we'd be better off livin' somewhere else. Turns out though, that there are worse places than here. Mum set up the refuge, dad and I bring 'em in.'

'That's… so kind,' Alice hummed.

'We gotta do what we can to help people survive.'

'Haven't you guys ever been caught?' Alice asked, surprised at how long Chris and his family have been ferrying in mutants, illegally.

Chris grinned broadly, as if trying not to say too much. 'Not once.'

A moment of silence passed before Alice decided not to prolong it and leave, turning towards the exit, looking at the freezer door.

'So… how did you guys eat while Zach was in there?'

'With this.' Alice turned and saw Chris holding a piece of lined paper. Not wanting to sound stupid, Alice urged him to continue.

'Wrote down what we needed, and he gave it to us. Mind you, it was after leaving the room. Hey Alice… does that mean you're… different… too?'

Alice nodded, but strangely, didn't feel uncomfortable with him knowing.

'That…school, you were talking about. I was there for a little while too…' she commented, steering the question away from her mutation nonetheless.

'Really?' Chris' face brightened, 'Maybe my sisters would remember you. Say… if you don't uh, mind me asking…'

'I can copy stuff,' Alice answered before he could ask.

'What do you mean?'

'Well, uh,' she stuttered, not really keen on explaining the full details, 'I can… copy you, physically… in a nutshell.'

'Oh, like, transforming?'

'Yeah, something…like that…'

Chris saw her discomfort, and offered to change the subject. 'What about him?'

'Zach?'

'Yeah… what's his deal?'

'I'm not… too sure, actually,' she stopped for a moment to think, 'He's super fast and strong… and can heal really quickly. Back where I was staying, there was this rumor that he's immortal, or something.' Alice instantly felt guilty for continuing that rumor after she had told Markus off for starting it.

'Fun,' Chris picked up a hand towel and wiped around the sink. 'So, where were you guys headed before we picked you up?'

'_I_ was trying to get back to Sydney,' she sighed.

'Oh, you're lucky… if you guys had swum in, they probably would've shot you down or something.'

'Yeah, but if we land in Queensland, I'll still be too far…'

'We're taking you to a _mutant_ refuge… I'm sure one of them will help you two get to where you need to, and if not… I'll see what dad can manage,' Chris said.

'Thanks again,' Alice turned to return to her sleeping bag, wondering if Zach would return at all to try and justify himself, or if he left for good.


	20. Run Away

**20. Run Away.**

They had begun moving the next morning, with no sign of Zach. Alice didn't sleep at all during the night, out of both anxiousness and slight sea-sickness. She decided to brace the heat and climb above deck, so once she had finished her breakfast, she went up the metal stairs and went outside.

It was a calm day again, though the boat moved fast, stirring the water up quite a lot. She walked up to the bow; the only part of a boat she knew and looked out towards the horizon, wondering where he could be.

'So you're the girl we picked up, eh?' Alice turned around quickly, as a middle-aged man with sandy brown hair walked over to her.

'Robert Fletcher, captain of this ship,' he shook her hand.

'Alice,' she informed him, 'this isn't really what I imagined a ship to look like, though.'

'I picked this up in India; it's a sort of dhow, or used to be before Chris and I got our hands on it,' he grinned, patting the railing.

Alice nodded, pretending as if she knew what a dhow was… or how one could just pick up a boat.

'Where did Zach say he wanted to go?' she asked unexpectedly.

As if knowing she would have eventually asked that question, Robert smiled warmly. 'He asked where the closest inhabited islands were, and I told him that we weren't too far from the Solomon Islands, gave him the directions and he swam off towards them.'

'Is that far from here?' she asked tentatively.

'Well, it'd be quite a swim back. But we're moving slowly, so I'm sure he'd be right. It did look as though he carried you far enough.'

* * *

Zach swam in the direction the captain told him to, nearing the point of hysteria when his feet touched sand.

As soon as he was walking on the sandy shores of a heavily vegetated island, he could feel the energy of life pulsating around him, and he took off to the source in a state of delirium, not caring about whose life he was actually stealing.

It took twelve kills to get him thinking straight again.

* * *

Alice remained sitting on the deck under the moving shade through to the late afternoon, dreading going back into the cramped and muggy cabin later on in the evening. She wasn't the only person on the deck, as the refugees slowly drifted into the fresh – albeit hot – air, along with them, Chris.

'No food to prepare?' she asked as he sat down next to her.

'Not for a couple more hours.'

'What's on the menu?' she inquired, leaning back.

'Was thinking along the lines of chicken broth,' he said.

'Stock cubes?'

'Yep. Though, I was thinking of putting in some potatoes for something a little different…' Chris grinned as Alice laughed.

'So, tell me… what happened at the school?' Alice inquired, still curious from their previous conversation.

'You should know…' he began.

'I left… and moved t

* * *

o the States. I don't know what happened,' she rushed, not waiting for him to finish.

'Well, all I know is that something happened with a few students, one tried to destroy the place, another went into a coma… a few others escaped. Or…something crazy like that. Then some officials came, did an inspection, sent a bunch of students home and closed the place down.'

'What's ironic, is that my parents sent my sisters there cos they were worried they wouldn't fit in at school. 'Cause they thought they'd be safe there…'

'Bet a lot of families

* * *

thought that…' Alice replied, wondering how her life would've turned out had her parents been a little more supportive.

Conversation dwindled down as the sun began to set. Alice was beginning to think that Zach wasn't going to come back – not that it bothered her too much, he did keep important information from her, despite his efforts to keep her safe.

'Well, it's time I got back into the kitchen,' Chris pulled himself up, stretching his legs. He watched Alice for a few minutes as she looked out towards the endless ocean; her shoulders slumped.

'He'll come back,' he looked out too, watching Alice shrug.

'The way he was clinging onto you while you were outta it when we dragged the both of you on board… well, it didn't look like he was going to leave for a while yet.'

Alice looked up at him both interested, and slightly confused.

'When we managed to pry you from him to take you inside he went nuts… He tore through the place looking for you.'

Chris sighed as Alice pulled her legs up to her body in response.

* * *

Zach was finished.

He didn't really remember how many people and animals he had to slaughter, and he didn't want to. He never really realised just how hungry he was.

He walked back to the beach, feeling completely energized. He had waited until dark to swim back, it being much cooler then.

Zach assessed the markings he had etched into the trees of the location the boat should roughly be in, and dove into the water.

* * *

'Hey, Alice,' Chris' voice interrupted her dream-less sleep as he tapped her on her shoulder the following morning.

'Hmmm?' she rubbed her eyes, propping herself up on her sleeping bag.

'Zach's come back… he's in the hall-cabins,' he looked at her dismally as she tore out of her sleeping bag and ran towards the hidden door.

* * *

**A/N:** Whoa, all those separators!Um, yeah, another slow update. SORRY GUYS!  
Hope this story is still thrilling, or at least the vaguest bit interesting, hehehe.


	21. Don't Be Scared

**21. Don't be scared.**

Alice slid open the door and ran to the end of the hallway, to the door with light peeking out from underneath. Though, she stopped short, suddenly nervous.

Why was she running?

It suddenly occurred to her that she had spent the past day and a half mourning his absence, trying to convince herself that she only wanted him back to yell and abuse him, rather then willingly listen to what he wanted to tell her.

The doorknob rattled as the door itself swung open, revealing a rejuvenated looking Zach, holding some dirty clothing.

'Hey,' he welcomed Alice, holding back from grinning at her pajamas – short shorts and a tank top. He had never seen her wear so little, that it actually surprised him.

She nodded to him, feeling a little let down from his average greeting and somewhat self conscious.

'I…suppose you probably want to know what happened…' he started.

Alice walked past him and into his room.

It was the same room she had woken up in, and nothing had changed. She stood awkwardly by the bed, waiting for him to say something.

'Uh, would you like to sit down?' he asked, pointing to the bed as he took the chair opposite. Alice bit her lip and sat down apprehensively.

'I haven't…really told many people this, alright? So…be patient,' he mumbled, feeling embarrassed, but weary as to why she was so silent now, though he knew it probably had something to do with him not telling her what he knew about her past.

'The…thing about my mutation is…that….' He began, deciding that's not the way he wanted to start it.

'When my mutation manifested… it well, killed me, to put it simply.'

'Pardon?' Alice asked, stunned.

She wasn't sure if she heard right. 'How can your mutation kill you, if you're sitting here, in front of me?'

Zach sighed with relief, he was glad she was talking now.

'It was a weird out of body experience. Like, I physically died, but… well, my life-force, spirit, or whatever you want to call it, reentered my body instead of going wherever it's meant to,' he tried to explain.

'How did…what?' said Alice.

'Okay… well, basically, I died, but came back to life because I found a way of well, doing it… I had to uh…take someone else's life-force to power me to go back to my own body.'

'You…had to what?' This didn't sound like a mutation, it sounded like some weird science-fiction movie.

'See! It's hard to explain!' he whined, agitated with himself.

'Okay, okay… let me see if I've got this clear… your mutation kicked in, killing you… but it was your mutation that brought you back, and to do that you had to…kill someone?' she gasped, just realizing what he meant by taking someone else's life force. She wanted him to deny it, but he nodded solemnly

'So…you're like… a vampire?'

'An energy vampire, if you want to be a little more specific. I don't drink blood,' he shuddered, not sure if it was at the thought of drinking blood, or that he had repeated words once spoken by the sadistic Selene.

'Does that mean you live…forever?' She asked surprised at how close Markus' rumor had been.

'I don't eat, sleep, age… I have the usual superhuman vampiric powers – except telepathy and telekinesis,' he listed it off, not sure if he could count manipulating existing energy as telekinesis.

'But… I get hungry. I can't…'live' without feeding…'

'Off other people's lives,' she muttered.

'It's…it's not my fault,' he looked at her miserably.

Alice sat quietly on the bed, trying to comprehend what he had just told her.

What he had just told her was that basically, he had to kill to survive.

No wonder no one knew a thing about him.

Zach looked at her, trying to understand her expression. She looked sad, not disgusted or angry like he had expected.

'Alice?'

'How long ago was this?' she asked.

'Was what?'

'Your mutation, when did it…happen?'

'Four years ago, I'd be twenty-two this year' he replied, a little perplexed. Alice seemed to be ignoring the fact that he just told her he had to kill people to stay the way he is. He had thought that maybe, by telling her, she wouldn't feel as monstrous – but it didn't even seem like she was thinking of that.

'You…you know why I left the boat, right?' Alice quickly nodded in response.

'Are you…alright?' he asked, worried that she'd run away if he got too close.

'I'm…fine… but are…you?' she whispered, her head down low.

'What do you mean?' he asked, quite stunned. He had just fed; of course he'd be fine.

'I mean…killing so many people…for so long, doesn't that make you sad?' she looked up at him.

'You get…used to it,' he began, wincing at how that must have sounded, 'what I meant was… that… I've accepted it. I don't enjoy the fact that I'm murdering, but I have to keep doing it,' he confessed.

Alice stood up from the bed and walked towards the door. Zach, too, stood and followed her, raising his hand to place on her shoulder.

She quickly backed away, looking at him in fear.

Zach dropped his hand and let her walk out, on her own.

* * *

**AN:** Selene is a canon, I used in_ Vampyre_. She helped to explain some of Zach's mutation.  
Rarararrrr, see, I'm being good... by uploading faster... Hehe!


	22. Theoretical Nightmares

**22. Theoretical Nightmare.**

'How did it go?' Chris asked as Alice slowly walked out, trying to maintain her composure. She brushed past him and hurried up the stairs.

Chris turned and watched as Zach looked out after her, and shook his head.

**x**

Alice sat right at the bow, grasping to the bars, her legs dangling over the edge, a few droplets of water on her still sun burnt skin cooling her legs and feet as they slid down.

'Alice?'

She refused to turn her head, but knew he'd walk over anyway.

'That night…at the club, all those men actually died?'

Zach sighed and sat down somewhere behind her, Alice took his silence as a yes.

'Do you…kill… just anyone?' she whispered.

'I…try not to,' he replied, hoping that she'd stop looking so tense. He didn't really know what to say, not having met someone who wasn't hardened by the concept of death.

'So you hunt down criminals? Hoping that you'll be freed or liberated or something?' she snapped.

Zach grew angry; she knew this was his mutation – he couldn't help it.

'You're acting as if I have a choice in the matter,' he retorted angrily, 'you don't see my asking who _you've_ killed.'

Alice hung her head low, wanting so desperately to remain angry at him, but he was right. Sometime ago she _had_ killed – but it seemed like nothing compared to Zach. She couldn't remember, so it was easier to convince herself that it never happened.

'It doesn't hurt to die when I do it anyway,' he admitted, not realizing the effect of what he had said.

'How do you know?' Alice shot at him – what was he trying to do, make himself look like a saint next to her for killing painlessly, whilst she probably had done worse?

'Because no one ever looks pained…and if I'm specifically hunting down the bad guys, wouldn't I want them to suffer?'

'Then _who_ do you kill? The sick, the elderly, the _weak_?'

'Not… all the time.'

'That's low,' she gave a quick glance over at him and immediately regretted her remark.

'Well, you're one to talk,' he replied hotly.

Moments later, after realizing what potential impact his words had on Alice, he sighed dismally, 'I'd just…appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone, though.' He stood up and made his way to the back of the small ship, aware from the glare of the sun and from her aversion.

She knew what her heart was urging her to do, but her head kept reminding her of how inhumane he was, trying to stop her from seeing past it. Alice turned and watched as he slowly walked back, his hand trailing on the warm rails.

She wanted very much to apologise, to run up to him and make things all better.

But he was a monster – but so was she.

She had tried since she woke up to forget what had been revealed to her about her past back in the warehouse, but no matter how preoccupied she had been able to keep herself, the words spoken to her kept replaying in her mind.

'_You killed people…_' Zoey had told her, throwing her a look of indifference – as if killing was a normal part of her life. Now that Zach had told her about his mutation – confided in her – every time she looked at him, not only did she see a monster in him, but the monster of her past. The person she never remembered being.

Alice bit her lip and stayed staring out at the water for the remainder of the day.

**x**

She walked back downstairs just before the sun began to fall, casting a purple glow across the sky. It was busy, with everyone silently rolling and folding their scarce belongings away.

Her heart fluttered as a strong hand placed itself on her shoulder. She quickly turned around to see a very cheery Chris.

'We're about an hour away… I want you to see this, alright!' he steered her above back out to the deck, and then up to the small balcony outside the captain's quarters.

'What is it?' she asked, peering in all directions.

'There,' he pointed. Two girls had positioned themselves at either end of the vessel, facing one another.

'My sisters,' he announced proudly.

The boat neared the land mass that Alice hadn't paid much attention to earlier, and as the boat did, the girls grasped firmly onto the metal safety bars.

'Look down.'

Alice looked towards the flooring she knew she was standing on, but saw nothing but the water rushing below. Somewhat concerned that the entire boat seemed to have disappeared, she turned for reassurance from Chris, who also was gone.

'They can make themselves invisible – when they work together, they can do this!' he informed her, his voice seeming to come from nowhere.

**x**

The boat drifted invisibly down a deep canal and stopped at a dock, home-crafted from logs.

The area around Alice started to fill out as the vessel reappeared, though Chris was already downstairs, guiding the mutant refuges out to the deck and towards the platform that bridged over the water and to the dock.

Alice took one last glance around for Zach before joining the others.

They drifted through the thick bush fully of vegetation that Alice had never seen before, until they stopped in front a row of very large trees. She could see Chris beginning to direct people through at the front, and waited patiently at the back of the crowd.

'C'mon Alice,' he led her through as the line dwindled down.

As they stepped through the trees, she realised that they were in the most perfect and least suspicious hiding place imaginable. The trees provided a dense perimeter around what seemed to be a small town, and the foliage covered the borders so it wouldn't look too unnatural. There was a large playing field just in front of what appeared to be the main entrance, guarded by sentry towers hidden in the trees, behind which was a large hall, and a variety of different sized log cabins.

'How did…?' Alice began, baffled at how such a community could have appeared without anyone knowing.

'We _are_ a community of mutants… making homes is the least of our problems,' said Chris, who was watching someone jog over eagerly – a tall girl, with long pinkish hair came over and stood by him.

'Alice, this is Penny,' Chris introduced her. Penny offered her hand as Alice introduced herself.

'Over on the east side is where the founding families stay,' Chris continued, pointing over to a group of homes with his free hand, 'I'm sure mum will sort out a place for you there… but in the meantime,' he glanced over as two girls separated themselves from the crowd of children playing on the playground equipment ran over, 'my sisters wanted to meet you.'

* * *

**A/N:** Okay, so I saw how similar that last chapter was to Twilight – but, like, seriously… I didn't mean it. Alice is just in some epic denial about what she did, that's they way she showed it. Anyway, I hope this chapter made it seem a lot less like Twilight… Because, I'm like, beating myself up for it…


	23. Recount

**23. Recount.**

'Hello,' she looked at the twins who both had the same blonde hair as their brother, but each had both brown and blue eyes. They walked over silently to the shelter of the trees near the outskirts of the town.

'What's your name?' one asked as they sat down on the thick, soft grass.

'Alice, what are your names?' she replied, not really knowing how to talk to ten-year olds.

'Stephanie and Melissa,' one of the answered, not really bothering to help differentiate between who was who.

'Chris said you went to Simon's Academy,' the other began, looking at Alice with curiosity. Alice hadn't remembered that name ever being associated with the place she had attended; it was always just The Facility.

'Yeah, I did,' said Alice 'did you like it there?'

The twins nodded and began talking almost simultaneously about all their friends and their classes, giving her a full recount of their stay, until the place closed down.

'What happened then?' Alice inquired, feeling a little worn out from having to listen to two years worth of stories.

'Well,' one began – Alice guessed it was Stephanie – looking as though she was about to tell a really important, exciting story, 'Meli didn't see it, but I got to. There was this girl, I think… or a boy with long hair and…' she broke off in a fit of giggles before returning to the story, 'and _she_ was flying out from the science building with the labs for the senior students. She broke down the fence and started flying out but – 'she stopped, her sister cutting in.

'Some people said she started screaming and like, clawing at her skin, other people said she just collapsed and started like having a fit and coughing blood and stuff,' Melissa beamed, happy she had beaten her sister to the punch.

'But the doctors came out and brought her back in,' Stephanie finished.

She had never escaped.  
They caught her, dragged her back, and turned her into a killing machine.  
Zoey had been right, but the worst part was that she _still_ didn't remember any of it.

'Come play with us Alice!' the girls said, standing up and looking longingly towards the field where the other children were playing mutant-soccer. Alice stood up next to them and thanked them for telling her what had happened, but that she was tired and was hoping to find her room. Somewhat disappointed that their new friend wasn't showing much interest in playing, the girls made sure that Alice would visit them later on so they could show her around the town.

That promise was fulfilled later on that night, when Chris invited her to their home for dinner.  
Chris' father hadn't returned, so there was still no way of knowing how she would ever get to the facility.

'We won't be able to get you into the place,' his mother, Ellen, began watching as Stephanie and Melissa brought out the food they had prepared once they heard Alice was coming over.

'From what I hear, the place is still pretty heavily guarded. We can't risk losing anyone from here.' Ellen scooped some of the lumpy mashed potato onto Alice's plate along with some mushy peas and a lamb chop Chris' sisters had cooked.

'What about the drop-off site?' Chris asked looking wearily at the food his sisters created; he preferred to do the cooking around here.

'Hmmm… we could give her a map, but it'd be a few days' drive or so,' Ellen thought out loud. Of course, she didn't know about Zach. Chris glanced over at Alice, catching on quickly. He wouldn't say anything though; his mother didn't need to worry about a rogue mutant who knew about the refuge whilst trying to keep a handle on everything on her own, while his father was still away.

'Is Alice leaving?' one of the twins asked with a mouth full of potato.

'Don't talk with your mouth full,' her mother snapped, 'I suppose it should be alright. Though, I'd prefer it if we thought about this when Roger gets home.'

'That's fine,' Alice said awkwardly, 'I mean I'm grateful enough that you guys are helping me out, if I have to wait a few more days… that's alright.'  
Ellen looked at Alice appreciatively – she really didn't need the stress of having to worry about sending a young girl, on her own, on a trip across two states.

Alice stayed for a while after dinner and chatted with Chris and his family. She had found out that Roger would hide the boat when it's not in use on a deserted and heavily vegetated island with deep, wide rives that ran through the middle. The teleporter they spoke about at dinner brought him back when they were done.

She also found out that along with Chris' family, two other families that had children in the facility helped form this refuge, with the intention of bringing their families from overseas that were under mutant persecution. No one had expected that they would be bringing enough people to start a small town.

'While you wait, however,' Chris began, as his mother finished describing how they managed to create a fully functioning sewage system, 'you'll have to stay here.' The girls looked up as their brother finished the sentence and began pummeling their mother with questions about whether Alice could stay in their room, but Ellen shook her head.

'Alice is a grown girl; she can stay in the empty cabin near the Stephen's place,' her mother replied, preparing to deal with an approaching tantrum.

'Why don't you show her the place, Chris?' Ellen urged, casting quick glances to the silent children.

'Sure,' he smiled, feeling quite grateful that he wouldn't have to hear it.

They walked in silence along the dirt tracks that wove around like small streets and lanes would in a city. Alice admired aloud throughout the walk at the work everyone had put into making their living conditions tolerable. In fact, it was almost perfect, even if they didn't have television or an internet connection.

'Here you go,' Chris fished around in his pocket for the set of keys to open the cabin. Alice looked at her neighbors; the house next door was brightly lit and she could hear the sound of children running around in their rooms.

'Right, well, you'll be right here. The Stephen's are a mutant family; empaths and a shape shifter. I'm sure you'll be safe here,' he opened the door for her and they walked in. Alice knew he was thinking about Zach when he spoke of her safety. She didn't blame him either, if she had half a mind she would have been glad to be away from him as well.

Maybe even a bit cautious that he could be lurking around.

Chris left Alice after showing her around the one-story cabin, with an open kitchen and living area, a small bathroom and one little bedroom at the back.

As she walked through the house, she breathed in deeply, smelling the rich aromas of the wood and the forest beyond her. She had only known city life, never had she gone out into the wilderness. Shaking her head, she slowly walked to her bedroom which had a set of generic looking clothing; jean shorts and a purple t-shirt that she could wear in the morning.

She sat down on her bed with her head in her hands, listening for any sign of movement outside. A snapping of twigs, a crunching of leaves; anything would suffice. But there was nothing. She was expecting him to return, but why would he?

'God, I'm such an idiot,' she whispered audibly, not hearing the soft groan of her bedroom door as it slowly swung open.


	24. Surprises

**24. Surprises.**

Alice looked up from her bed, glancing at Zach who was standing in the doorway, looking curiously around the room.

'What are you doing here?' she whispered, standing up and crossing her arms, trying to make herself look stronger than what she felt.

'After some … thinking, I've decided that whether or not you hate me, fear me, despise me; I am not letting you go back to those monsters on your own.'

The word monster stung at her. For it was against that description she was fighting, and she hated herself for having such superficial notions in her mind. Alice wanted to tell him she was sorry, that she didn't hate him, but she couldn't bring it to herself to say it.

Her mind still clung desperately onto his nature, even though none of it was his fault.

'We can't… leave yet,' said Alice, trying to sound thankful without having to say it.

'Yeah, I know.'

'They won't like it that you're hanging around here without them knowing,' she pointed out.

'That wouldn't surprise me. I'll wait outside the village,' Zach started for the door.

'No, don't.'

He stopped, a little surprised.

'You can stay here,' she said from the doorway. Zach turned and looked at her questioningly. He was certain that she, like any normal person, would be repulsed by him, but then, she was really no different to him.

'Can't have you skulking around in the dark,' she shrugged, before walking back into her room and closing the door.

He waited on the couch, listening as she fell asleep. He sighed to himself, relieved that she still wanted him nearby. An hour later, he raised himself from his seat and slunk into her room, watching as she slept calmly for the first time in a long while.

**x**

She was glad he wasn't off hiding from her, but she still didn't want to talk to him. Though, when she went to bed that night, she woke up knowing she slept well.

Alice quickly showered and got dressed before making her way into the kitchen for breakfast.

To her dismay, Zach wasn't around, but what did she really expect? He had spent so much time with her before they came, of course it made sense that he would take any opportunity to sneak off.

She walked out of the cabin after making sure it was clean and tidy; the way it had been when she occupied it the night before, and strolled along the dirt path, only just realizing how much she missed the Australian summertime.

It wasn't long before she came across Ellen, who had just come back from a meeting in the town hall, about her, apparently.

'I'm sorry I didn't tell you, but some of the families… you know, they're just worried. No one wants to get caught and be forced to leave this place.'

Alice nodded silently as they walked towards Ellen's house.

'Don't worry, Roger will take it from there, only a couple families are still weary,' said Ellen.

'He's back?' asked Alice.

'This morning. He really wants to help you. If you're lucky, you'll probably be able to leave by this afternoon,' Ellen smiled, proud of her husband.

Alice spent the remainder of the morning wandering around the town, talking to the locals who spoke English, before she was called to Chris' place.

'Good afternoon Alice,' Roger greeted as she entered the house.

'Hello,' she replied, lingering in the hallway awkwardly.

'Come into the dining room, everything's set up there.' Roger led her and Chris into the dining room with the large table in the middle, covered with a variety of maps and an assortment of survival paraphernalia.

'Chris and Ellen told me about your plight, and, being a community that helps mutants in need, we've decided to do what we can for you.' Roger leant against the table and Chris took a seat.

'I think we could have done a lot more, but I have to be mindful of the other families. I hope you understand,' said Roger. Alice nodded quickly.

'So, over here,' Roger pointed on the map, 'this is where we are, and this is the drop-off point where we can take you.' He rested his finger on a place called Bourke.

'It's a small town. We have a few contacts on the outskirts. You'll be able to get a car, and it'll be about a day's drive to get to your destination, here,' Roger drew a cross on a space unoccupied by any roads or towns.

'Are you sure?' she asked.

'That I am. The closest town is Cobar, and that should be your last stop. There's an off-track road that will lead you to the place. Don't worry; I've marked it all out for you.' Roger laughed, packing everything up before heading out to the back. Alice glanced over at Chris, who had sat silently the whole time.

'Chris?' she said, 'are you alright?'

Chris nodded sharply before replying.

'I spoke to Zach last night.'

'Oh?' Alice tried to sound uninterested, despite the fact that it confirmed that he never stayed when she invited him to.

'He's not coming with you when we teleport you to Bourke.'

'I…see…' she began, trying to still look like she didn't care, 'I wasn't expecting him to, really, anyway.'

Chris raised his eyebrows before standing from the chair, 'You'll be leaving soon, and you might want to get ready.'

As Chris had told her, Zach wasn't waiting in the small clearing near the south perimeters; a space hidden by the last few, uninhabited cottages and cabins. Chris and his mother were there, along with Roger and a short man with skin so pale, it was almost transparent.

'This is Kahn, he'll take you to the drop-off site and no further,' said Roger, noticing Alice's lack of belongings. She smiled nervously at the man, who looked somewhat agitated.

'Got everything?' Ellen bustled over to Alice, eyeing her small backpack full of the supplies Roger had generously given her. Alice, chocked up on both nerves and despondency, nodded.

Kahn approached Alice, reached up and placed his hand on her shoulder, she cringed not knowing what to expect.

'Don't worry, it doesn't hurt,' said Chris, walking up on the other side of the man, placing his hand on Kahn's shoulder, who started cursing in a language foreign to Alice.

'Thanks,' she smiled appreciatively, grateful that she wasn't stepping into the unknown alone.

'Don' move,' Kahn snapped in broken English before they disappeared from the clearing.

Chris and Alice stumbled for a moment in the raging light of the sun, feeling a little disorientated. Kahn had quickly found shelter in a nook created by a pile of boulders. Once gaining her composure, Alice peered out across what seemed to indeed be, the outskirts of Bourke, and it was so very different to where they had just come from. It was red and incredibly hot with no breeze being carried on the still trees.

'There's the garage,' Chris pointed, shaking his head looking a little pale, despite the beating heat.

The two trudged over; glancing around for any signs of life, when the sound of an engine started startled them. Slowly, they walked up to the garage door and examined the contents. There were two cars, an old blue, rusty Ute that was missing two of its large wheels, and a sleek black sports car proudly showing off next to it. Alice looked over at Chris, waiting for an explanation, but he rolled his eyes and walked over to the sports car.

'That's real subtle, man,' he said, trying to look through the almost black-tinted windows. From inside, someone removed the sun-shielding material blocking the view into the front window. Alice understood Chris' reaction – it was Zach.

'You can have it when I'm done with her,' Zach said, getting out of the car.

'Fat load of help that'll be. She'll fall apart the moment you hit a dirt track,' Chris commented, trying to sound smug, but he couldn't help but look at that car with wishful thinking.

'Where did you get this?' Chris asked.

'In the time it took you all to decide on how to get Alice here, I managed to find a car, and get here.'

'In the heat?' Alice asked with seemingly random concern, remembering how he had to stay in the freezer for most of their trip on the boat. Zach looked away from her mumbling 'I'm fine.' He wasn't expecting her to be the slightest bit worried.

Alice was having doubts about the car when she looked at it closely.

'It's an all-wheel drive. If it breaks down on us, there are other ways of traveling,' he cast a glance over at Alice, knowing that if he had to, he'd carry her – even if he preferred to keep her away from that place.

'We better get going,' said Zach, opening the door and getting back into the car, 'come on Alice.'

Alice walked to the passenger side of the car where Chris was standing. She hugged him, thanking him profusely for all the help, telling him to pass them on to his family and opened the car door.

'Bit chilly,' she commented, pulling on her seatbelt.

'Sorry.' Zach turned down the air-conditioner, started the car which revved into action and drove almost soundlessly out of the garage and into the hot Australian desert.

* * *

**A/N:** HAPPY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE! :D


	25. Driving

**25. Driving.**

They sat in silence for the first few hours, bored of the country music stations that their radio could only pick up. Neither of them had brought anything else to do, and Zach only needed to look at the map once before memorizing their entire route.

Neither of them _needed_ to talk. But the silence was almost insane. Few cars passed them by as they drove along the highway, keeping an eye out for their next stop, the small town of Cobar.

'So, Australia eh,' Zach started, attempting to break the silence.

'Mhm,' Alice replied, staring out the window as the landscape rolled by, nothing too special.

'Is it normally this hot?' he asked, casting a quick glance over towards Alice who sat against the door, clutching onto the handle. She shrugged. Zach sighed and returned his attention back to speeding down the highway.

Half an hour later, Alice decided that ignoring that Zach was in the car was unnecessary. She was nervous, but it wasn't his fault. Not… directly anyway.

'I've never been this far into the country before,' she said, relaxing her clutch on the handle, resting into the chair a little more.

Startled by her sudden wish to start a conversation, Zach swerved the car a little.

'Doesn't seem like country… it's just _red_,' he hoped his lame attempt at a joke would make her laugh. Or giggle, at least. He missed hearing it.

Instead, Alice cracked a small smile.

'Where _have_ you been in Australia, then?' he asked, trying to prolong the conversation.

'Sydney… and that mutant refuge,' she grinned.

'Is Sydney any better?' Zach asked, glancing over at Alice again, relieved to find that she wasn't looking as though she was going to jump out from the car.

'It's a city and suburbs; nothing special, really. But I've lived there all my life, so I'm probably not the best person to ask.'

Alice relaxed a little. There was a lot less tension and she was beginning to feel a little safer.

'Zach,' she began, suddenly feeling a lot more nervous.

'Yeah?' he turned his concentration towards Alice, but still kept an eye on the road.

'I'm… sorry about… what I said and… all that,' she squeaked, blushed and turned her attention to studying the flat, red land outside.

'It's… okay. Don't worry about it. I know I said a few things I shouldn't have.'

'Was that an apology?' she asked smartly, as Zach shrugged with a grin.

'Ah, I see how it is…' she leant back in her chair, trying not to sound too disappointed.

Minutes of dull silence followed, but there was no real sign that Zach was going to apologise for anything. He had only reacted to what she had said – and it's not like what he said was a lie or anything.

'So, tell me something about yourself,' Zach asked, attempting to break the silence and start a conversation. Girls liked to talk about themselves, right? At least, the ones he knew did…

'What do you want to know?' she replied a little too sharply.

'How about, what were your plans before you went to that… place?' he asked.

'I wanted to travel for a while. I don't think I was totally sure about what I wanted to do,' she replied, remembering the days in high school where her careers teacher would slowly grow more exasperated as she changed her mind about university courses every other week.

'What about you?' she asked.

'I was seventeen, I had no immediate plans.'

'None?' she asked, a little surprised.

'Well, back then I figured I had all the time in the world to worry about getting a job and settling down… turns out, I was right,' he grimaced, both unsure of whether to find that funny or terribly ironic.

'Where did you want to travel?' he asked, hoping she'd understand the change in conversation.

'Europe, mostly; it was just an idea, though. I never really expected to do it, though,' she replied. 'You'd know all about it, wouldn't you?' she asked.

'Huh?'

'Well, just guessing from the accent.'

'Oh,' he felt somewhat ashamed that he had forgotten his heritage, 'yeah, I lived in England until I was fifteen. Parents were transferred over to the States.'

'Do you miss it?'

'Sometimes, but… I miss my family more.'

'Why?' Alice asked before she could stop herself. She could see Zach tense up a little at her question.

'Sorry, personal question, don't worry,' she apologized immediately, kicking herself. She was, once again, apologizing.

'No, no. It's alright. They all think I'm dead, so I really can't go showing up on their front doors… well, except my sister,' Zach said. He was somewhat glad that his parents didn't end up hating him, or fearing at least, like so many other mutant kids he knew.

'What about yours?'

'Uhh… they were surprised, to put it lightly,' she mused, remembering her mother's face when the men from the facility came around their place.

'Oh, sorry,' he said, quickly guessing that she was one of those kids whose parents were scared of.

'No, they only did what they thought was best. I mean, no one – myself included – really knew what my powers were, so they sent me to that place with the best of intentions… even if they were still scared of me,' she explained. 'They didn't hate me or anything.'

'No one knew what your powers were?' he asked curiously, it sounded an awful lot like what happened to him.

'It's not a very shocking story…' she bit her lip. She hadn't told anyone what happened… ever. Zach coughed, waiting for her to tell him.

'There was this guy… one of my friends was going to go up and get his number, I got really angry… and copied his powers without realizing. I ended up teleporting to nearly every place in both his and my own memory for a few days,' she explained, only just realizing at how stupid that sounded. She let out a small laugh.

'You're right, how boring,' Zach laughed.

'So you copied his powers?' he asked once they had stopped.

'You read the notes, shouldn't you know that?'

'Wasn't there, they never really told Zoey what you could do, she just managed to piece it together,' Zach said, glancing in time to see Alice cringe a little at his mention of Zoey.

'Oh… well, yeah. I copy mutations, memories…all that sort of information stored here,' she tapped her head.

'So Zoey's really that powerful?' he said, remembering the fight in the warehouse; Alice had managed to carry them far out into the ocean with Zoey's mutation.

'Well, no. When I copy powers, they tend to get amplified. I think the energy or something it takes for me to do it tampers with them or something, I don't remember the exact science to it.'

'Sounds pretty sweet,' Zach whistled, half wishing he could pull something like that off.

'Not really. It means I'm totally useless on my own.'

Conversation died down as they drove into the night. Alice grew tired and fell asleep, leaving Zach alone with his drove through into Corba, not really taking any notice to the town and rented a room at the nicest hotel he could find.

Alice woke up early the next morning – so early it was still dark – to the faint sound of chatting. The leathery car seat seemed to have magically transformed into soft, light material. She opened her eyes and was stunned. She was in a cozy cottage room with wooden furniture, lying in a large soft bed. She scooted out of bed, still in the same clothes from the night before, and walked cautiously out of the bedroom.

Zach was on the sofa, taking up all the room and flicking through the television stations. Alice bit her lip; completely taken at how striking he looked sprawled all over the couch, his dark, longish hair slightly disheveled, stretched out with a lazy look on his face. He looked up at Alice, staring from the doorway and had to fight a grin.

'I got you spare clothing,' he informed her, not budging from his spot.

Alice realised that he was watching and bolted back to her room.

She stood in the middle of the bedroom nervously biting her lip. What had come over her to stare at him like that? She knew he was quite…good looking… but she had spent so much time with him, she thought she was used to it.

Remembering that he said something about clothing, she looked around the room, not finding anything that looked new for her to wear.

For a brief moment Alice considered walking back out and asking him where they were, but she giggled nervously at the thought. She needed some time to regain her composure.

'Here,' said a voice from behind her. Alice turned around, a little too quickly and tripped over her feet, sending her flying to the ground.

'Whoa, there!' Zach caught her, dropping the bag he was holding. They remained still, staring at one another. For a moment it was as if they had totally forgotten the potential danger that lay ahead, waiting for them to reach it. Zach watched in vague amusement and a little wonder as Alice grew redder and redder, but still refused to lose eye-contact with him. He straightened them up and picked up the bag of clothing.

'Uh, here,' he passed it to her and ambled out of the room resisting the urge to look back.

**x**

She sat back into the car where Zach was waiting for her, wearing light, three-quarter black pants and a form-hugging purple t-shirt. He was wearing his usual of black pants and a grey top.

'Do you need the map?' she asked tentatively.

'No, I'm right.'

'Enough petrol?'

'Just filled her up.'

'Thanks for the clothes.'

'It's alright.'

'And for renting that room.'

'Any time,' he replied, starting up the car and driving towards the dirt road.

They were out in the middle of nowhere in half an hour. The tension-filled silence they experienced yesterday was nothing compared to this now very awkward silence filled with jumbled, mumbled sentences that made no sense to either of them. They were acting like sixteen-year olds and they both knew it, which made the situation worse.

Though it was getting darker, the landscape began looking familiar to Alice as they drove on, and suddenly the vague nerves she felt earlier were threatening to turn itself into utter panic. Zach looked over to Alice who sat stock still, looking very pale.

'Are you alright?' he asked.

Alice shook her head quickly, but urged him to keep going.

An hour later, she could see the fence, though it was more like a giant concrete wall that you would expect to see surrounding a fortress. He drove the car up to the large gates in the middle and stopped, waiting for someone to come out to them.

They were greeted by a disgruntled guard holding a large gun. He tapped on the driver's window and Zach wound it down.

'Um, I'm Zacharias Thorn, and this is Alice…'

'Alice Kaey,' she cut in, leaning across Zach, 'I'm here to see uh… John Simons.'

John Simons… Zoey had told him he had died… The guard looked as though he was about to tell them the same thing, when the large gates opened, and a woman in her mid-forties walked out towards them.

'Alice? Alice Kaey? This is a surprise!'

* * *

**A/N:** Woo! It's still going! I was hoping I'd finish this by the New Year... but I don't know anymore. I'll try!  
Review?


	26. The Doctor

**26. The Doctor.**

Alice and Zach stepped out of the car, watching this woman warily. Zach slowly walked over to Alice as the woman came closer, by the time she had approached him he was standing defensively between them.

'Alice?' the woman repeated her name again.

'Who are you?' Alice asked, resisting the urge to clutch onto Zach's arm.

'You don't remember?' she asked, but Alice shook her head.

'We've come here for answers,' Zach snarled. The woman turned her gaze slowly to Zach, who stood a whole two heads taller than her.

'Zacharias Thorn? Yes, our correspondent in the States told us about you, before we lost contact. I am just as surprised that you're here too.'

'Please,' Zach rolled his eyes, 'we know all about this place, what you made Alice do, everything.' Alice fidgeted behind him, the woman noticed straight away; she never really stopped watching her.

'Do _you_, Alice?'

Alice stepped out from behind Zach.

'No, but I expect you _will_ tell me.'

'Very well,' the woman nodded, leading them inside the grey complex.

'My name is Doctor Evelyn Taylor, I was in charge of the whole unit that dealt with those students of excellence,' the woman began, taking them through halls that Alice remembered. Alice knew this path; she was taking them to the science building.

'We originally began as a defensive unit for Australia, but your…attempt to escape didn't sit well with the Government and so, they shut us down.

'We remained in operation, but we were running on stored funds. It was about that time when Britain became interested and took over. No longer were we working for Australia, instead, for the Queen herself.' Dr. Taylor swelled up with pride, whilst Zach began to feel all the more nauseated.

They arrived to the science building, where Dr. Taylor stopped, looking hard at Zach.

'I'm afraid that if Alice wants to know, you'll have to let her do so on her own.'

Zach looked at Alice, not wanting to leave her side, but Alice simply nodded, pulling Zach aside.

'I'll be right,' she whispered to him, before entering the building with the doctor.

Zach watched as Alice walked inside, catching the door just before it could shut and lock, and snuck in just as they turned down a hall. There was a putrid smell of chemicals in the air around him, filling up his senses so much that he lost Alice's scent.

He turned down a corridor and ran lightly around trying to find her.

'Hey!' someone called from down the hall. Zach turned and faced a large, burly man walk closer to him. Zach growled, but the man kept walking.

'I wouldn't try anything if I were you,' said the man, who was now standing two meters away.

'Give me one good reason,' Zach scowled.

'I'm sure you don't wan' nothin' happenin' to your friend…'

**x**

'Alice, please take a seat.' Dr. Taylor had taken them to a medium sized, white room, with a desk, two chairs and a television mounted on the wall. Dr. Taylor sat on the chair on the other side of the desk and folded her hands on the table.

'What did you do to me? What happened when I tried to leave? What about Blaine?' Alice asked in one breath.

'The easiest question is Blaine. He's back home, and from what I've heard, his condition has improved slightly. He is able to bond with his body for brief moments every once in a while. But, he is still on life-support,' the Doctor swiveled her chair a little, obviously bored with those particular details.

'As for what happened when you tried to leave… I don't fully know. You were stopped by John Simons and brought back in. He used you to amplify his own powers, so much and so often, that he ended up dead. However, just before he died, in his power-hungry rage, he threw you into one of those decrepit power-nullifying cells and left you there. When we found you – about two weeks later – we were worried you would have lost all your abilities.'

Dr. Taylor assessed Alice with a smile, 'Obviously you hadn't… you showed us that the moment we let you out. Took down two interns and almost blew the place up with another doctor's power over electricity. After that we – '

'You brainwashed me,' Alice snapped, not really surprised with what the doctor just told her.

'We _trained_ you and sent you out on extremely important missions.'

'Same thing,' Alice crossed her arms, rolling her eyes. 'So, now what?'

The Doctor coughed, 'well, we can't necessarily let you leave with that sort of information, can we?'

'Who would I tell?' Alice knew where this was going. They _had_ hired people to track her down for a reason.

'We can't take that chance.'

Alice rose from her seat with such force, that it toppled over behind her as walked to the door.

'Alice, the whole reason why we were trying to find you was because, once you were no longer in our control, you became a threat to our organisation. And all threats must be taken care of.'

'I'd like to see you try,' Alice turned to the woman, who was short and frail looking, smirking.

'You have two options, you either come back to continue working for us, or you don't. I suggest you go for the former.'

Alice placed her hand on the door-knob, making sure the doctor could see. Dr. Taylor sighed and pulled a remote out of her pocket and turned on the television. Alice turned and watched as a figure paced around the room so fast, it was just a blur. A couple of men entered and the figure stopped. Alice gasped. It was Zach.


	27. In the Line of Fire

**27. In the line of fire.**

'What… where is he?' Alice dropped her hand from the door-knob and walked closer to the television, watching as Zach listened to the men.

'He's safe as long as you don't do anything thoughtless.'

Alice ignored the doctor and kept watching the screen. One of the men pointed to where the camera and Zach looked towards it – looked right at her. She suspected that they were telling him something similar about her. Neither moved an inch.

* * *

Overhead, there was a crackling noise. Zach shot his head up, looking for the direction of the sound, but the only thing distinct on in the entire room was the video camera – and the two guards.

'_The two of you will only find one way out; with us._'

'NO!' he yelled out loud, hoping that Alice could see him. He ran up to the wall and began pounding on the concrete structure, feeling it move from beneath his fists.

One of the guards murmured into a speaker, but Zach wasn't listening, he had to get out.

* * *

Alice watched as Zach beat against the wall knowing that he'd wear himself out and then feed on the guards… which wouldn't be good for either of them. He was shaking his head and mouthing words. She knew what he was saying. She knew he was trying to tell her not to stay.

_Zach would be alright… he's immortal, he can heal,_ she thought to herself, _I've just got to get myself out first… he'd find out I'm gone and escape_. It was selfish but she knew it was true.

'No,' Alice said to Dr. Taylor rather bluntly.

'I was expecting this. Would you like to know something interesting about your good friend Zacharias?' Dr. Taylor began, staring at the screen.

Alice stood and waited silently for her answer.

'It's interesting because when he's not trying to knock down the wall, he retreats back to the other wall and stands directly underneath the air-conditioning duct.'

'Makes you wonder, eh,' Taylor turned to Alice with a smirk.

Did that mean he needed to feed? That he was weakening?

'I wonder what he feels about heat…' she whispered into a speaker, and one of the men in Zach's room walked out for moment and came back in. Zach paced back to the wall, and looked up in confusion.

She had ordered the air conditioner to be turned off.

'What about your guards!' Alice scoffed.

'They'll be fine,' she said distractedly, still watching the screen. She looked as if she wasn't getting the result she expected.

Zach continued ruthlessly beating against the wall, though they could see none of his progress.

'Does he really think he can get through?' Dr. Taylor mused to herself, studying Zach closely. He didn't seem as though he was tiring, he looked as though he was psyching himself into a frenzy; working harder and faster.

'…_he's cracked the wall…_' came the sound of one of the guards through the microphone on her desk. Alice looked over at television screen closely, and saw there was a long hair-line fracture through the concrete. He was going to escape!

'I can't have this. It's such a shame we didn't get to study him… such a shame,' said the doctor who sent orders through the microphone that Alice couldn't hear.

Inside the room, one of the guards pulled a small gun from its holster on his waist and aimed directly at Zach's chest. Zach had stopped trying to tear the wall down and was facing the guard, talking him as though he was convincing him to shoot. Alice watched in horror as the man pulled the trigger and Zach silently fell to the floor, landing on his hands and knees. Blood flowed from his chest as he breathed heavily, straining his muscles.

But his blood stopped cascading from his body, and he stood, facing the guards with a knowing smile.

'Accelerated healing!' Doctor Taylor squealed in delight, 'are you sure that the two of you refuse to stay? It'd be such a shame. Imagine if you had_ his_ power!

Alice knew what Zach would say, what he would do; so she stood her ground, refusing to give in.

'Oh, alright then,' said the doctor, talking into the microphone, 'send them all in.'

One by one twelve heavily armed guards marched into the room, each taking aim at Zach who stood, snarling, but dared not to kill a single one. They each pulled out their guns, cocked and aimed at him, waiting their orders.

Dr. Taylor didn't even bother trying to convince Alice otherwise to save Zach; she simply said a loud, booming _yes_.

* * *

He had been shot before, in fact, so many times he had given up on keeping count – but it was gunfire that wasn't all aimed at him by so many people. That night in the club with Alice tested him, and he had realised that though he _could_ heal from it, it left him very weak, and really very hungry.

And those guys were shooting wildly; here, he couldn't move.

Here, he was completely trapped.

Zach crouched down low, bared his teeth and hoped that Alice wasn't watching.

They took aim – one of them yelled out a command – and fired.


	28. Electric Execution

**28. Electric execution.**

'Get up!' Alice roared at the television screen. Zach had gone down in under fifteen seconds, and the guards were beginning to reload.

She turned to the doctor who looked slightly disappointed.

'I was expecting something flashier, really. He looks the sort, I do hope they didn't mess up that face of his,' she sighed, smiling at Alice.

Alice stormed up and grabbed the woman by her collar and stared her straight in the eyes.

'I don't think so, Alice,' she sneered, and pushed Alice back into her own head with a violent force. Alice winced in pain, stumbling backwards.

'Why do you think no one can enter your mind? We made you, Alice. We know everything about you, now, if you don't mind, I have some reprogramming to do,' the doctor stared at her, but Alice's attention had returned to the television. The guards had finished reloading and were busy emptying their guns into Zach, once again. His bloodied body lying hopelessly on the ground made her all the more angrier.

Alice started back for the door, but as she reached for the handle, she jerked her hand away – it was zapped rather painfully by something, well, invisible.

She turned and threw one of the chairs at the door; it hung mid-air, shaking violently, as if a current was tearing through it.

'He's still moving…' said the doctor, who didn't really seem to care about Alice anymore.

Alice watched as Zach struggled to crawl back onto his knees, the floor and his body completely covered in his blood, and as if that were the signal, the guards opened fired once again. There was a clatter as the chair – now broken and charred – fell to the floor. Alice eyed they remains carefully and snuck over to pick up the sharpest piece.

Without as much as a second thought she ran up to Dr. Taylor brandishing the piece of wood, ready to pierce it through her neck, but before she could reach her, she was flung back into the cold, white wall with an electric, invisible force.

Alice screamed as the currents ran through her body whilst she was still pinned to the wall, but still the doctor did not care.

Through blurry, tear-filled eyes, Alice strained to keep watching the television, trying to push back the pain searing through her body.

Zach was completely still now and the guards seemed to have run out of ammunition.

He was still bleeding, but his blood was unnaturally dark; almost black.

'Check him,' the doctor ordered. One of the guards walked over to Zach, kicking his arms and legs, and nodded at the camera.

'NO!' screamed Alice; Zach couldn't be dead! He wouldn't have gone down without a fight.

'GET UP!' she yelled over and over again.

'Don't you see Alice, it's over! Zacharias gave in, maybe you should too,' the doctor said finally acknowledging Alice, but not really caring about the amount of pain she was in.

'Never!' Alice spat vehemently.

'This is exactly what happened on your last mission. You let your emotions get the better of you, and you failed,' the doctor stepped towards Alice who was still hanging up on the wall.

'Do you _like_ failure, Alice?'

She tried with all her strength to push herself into Dr. Taylor's mind, to try and find her powers and escape, but once again the doctor threw Alice back into her own head with an explosive force.

Alice was barely keeping hold of consciousness when movement flickered on the television screen – the guards were still inside the room, chatting to themselves, waiting for their next orders, but it wasn't their movement that caught her attention.

There was the complete blackness seeping out in all directions from Zach, moving at a thick, heavy pace. Dr. Taylor turned, too, to see what Alice was watching and gasped. The black ooze was slowly making its way up the walls; and Zach had slowly risen to his knees. The guards panicked, reloading their weaponry as fast as they could, but before they could reach for more ammunition, half of them collapsed – dead.

'What is he?' whispered Dr. Taylor.

* * *

Zach stood up slowly, feeling the bullets wriggly out of his body, hearing them clatter on the floor. He assessed his arms and torso, but there were no bullet holes and no scars. The guards he hadn't killed were tending to their fallen teammates paying fearful attention to his every movement.

Zach gazed up to the camera and stared into the lens with completely white eyes, before taking down the other guards. He looked at the black ooze around him unsure why it hadn't disappeared yet, but at the same time was unfazed, and with a single thought; it rose up against the wall and short-circuited the video camera.

* * *

Alice held her breath for those few moments his face appeared on the television – bloodied and wild, with those familiar cold white eyes she had seen once before.

'You don't know who you're dealing with!' she screamed at the doctor who turned to Alice looking just as worried.

'Is that… his mutation?' she asked, but Alice refused to answer, preferring the pain that was numbing her body than to help her.

'Answer me!' she roared, flinging Alice brutally to the other side of the room, with a stronger current, knocking the breath out of her as she thudded against the wall.

_She's going to kill me_, Alice thought in panic, tasting blood in her mouth. She started screaming loudly, praying that Zach would hear her.


	29. Self Possessed

**29. Self-possessed.**

He heard the scream.  
That familiar scream that tore his heart, snapped him back to reality.  
He looked over his back, at the people he killed and at the blackness that still followed, seeking any energy-filled force and disarming it, sending sparks everywhere.  
He walked in darkness towards the shouting and screaming, feeling energy pulsating through the halls.

He kicked down every door to every room he passed.

Some were empty.

Quite a few now had dead bodies lying on the floor, even though he wasn't hungry anymore.

The energy was growing stronger, but the screaming had stopped.

He ripped the door right off the frame, tossing it aside as if it was no lighter than a piece of paper.

But there was something in front – something blocking his way in.

This time, he didn't even need to close his eyes to see it.  
To see the electrical and telekinetic energy that blocked his path.

He stuck he hand through and grabbed hold of the energy, twisting it as if it was made of silk. Tearing it down, he entered the room; the black ooze settling itself on the ceiling, taking out all the lights, leaving just the small lamp on the desk.

His eyes flickered to the doctor who stood cowering behind a twitching mass on the ground.

Alice.

He could still feel energy, her life, but it wasn't strong.

Zach pried his attention back to the doctor and reached for her life force.

But he got nothing.

She seemed to have covered herself in this electromagnetic force, and she knew she was safe by the way she was smirking.

'One move and she's gone.'

Zach looked up at the black ceiling and egged it towards her, but she noticed and flung him telekinetically through the back wall and into a larger room that was probably a science lab once upon a time. The blackness followed him almost at a hurried pace, trying to stay as close to his pain and his anger as it could.

She sent out another telekinetic bolt at him, but Zach caught it ignoring the painful electric current zapping at his hands, and threw it back at her.

Taylor blocked it with a shield and the bolt dissipated in the air.

They continued on like this, quickly tearing the room apart.

Zach glanced back into the smaller room, but Alice hadn't moved.

He needed to get closer.

He stepped towards the doctor who sent another bolt at him, but rather than catch it, he deflected it with his hands, the electricity searing his skin as it grew stronger as he stepped closer.

Like he did with the barrier at the door, he reached through her shield and pulled it off her, watching as it disappeared around them.

Taylor stood still, staring in his eyes, both in shock and utter fear.

He reached up and held her head in his hands.

And twisted. Hard.

As if he had just woken from a nightmare, he realised what he had done and stepped back from the woman lying dead on the ground.

Zach ran from the room and back to Alice who had stopped twitching, and was breathing very faintly.

He picked her up, being as gentle as he could; somehow channeling his anger into that growing black ooze that had taken over the larger room, causing small explosions from the electrical circuits that ran behind the walls.

He felt the building rumble as he rushed through the halls with Alice still unmoving in his arms.

The black ooze, now even thicker, spreading from every step he made.


	30. The Ultimatum

**30. The ultimatum.**

Zach stood outside the burning buildings, Alice still unconscious in his arms.

He didn't know what to do.

He never knew what to do, and now he was about to lose the one thing that managed to reconnect him to the world.

He tore his eyes from the blazing inferno and looked at the broken girl in his arms. She was so careful until the end not to hurt anyone, that it saddened him even more that _she_ was the one suffering, when it really should be him.

And now there was nothing left.

With his back to the spitting fire, he laid her down on the grass, gently moving her, trying to wake her.

'Alice, c'mon, please…' he pleaded.

'Do something!' he cried out loud, holding onto her.

He knew that he could save her.

He knew what he could do.

But would it be something she wanted?

_Her breathing…_

He couldn't hear her heart.

He couldn't leave her.

But he didn't want her to be miserable.

He didn't know.

He really didn't know.

Zach closed his eyes and felt himself float from his body.

* * *

**A/N:** It's…over. Wow.  
I won't touch their story ever again.


End file.
